Crime Stoppers’ new chairwoman wants to stop more crime — and needs more volunteers to do it

Mara H. Gottfried, Pioneer Press
Updated ·4 min read

Crime Stoppers of Minnesota is always seeking tips on unsolved crimes, and now they have a different kind of request — they’re looking for volunteers who can help the non-profit expand its work.

The all-volunteer organization manages tips that people call or send in, and gets info to law enforcement. They offer rewards, usually up to $1,000, and people can remain anonymous.

But they don’t have enough volunteers to do much else, said Camila Gadotti, Crime Stoppers’ new chairwoman. They have big plans if they can get more people to help.

“We need to make Crime Stoppers better recognized, so when people see something that is questionable or concerning they think of us first if they don’t want to call the police,” Gadotti said. “… Our entire mission revolves around ensuring full anonymity of tipsters.”

Crimes Stoppers’ goal is to be a bridge between the community and law enforcement to help solve crimes. The organization receives more than 500 tips a year involving crimes throughout Minnesota, Gadotti said.

Chair lives in St. Paul, cares about safety

Gadotti’s career is as a business person and a scientist; she’s president of a large life science testing company.

When she was looking to get more involved in volunteering, she thought, “Let me find something I care about so, I can help.” After growing up in Brazil, Gadotti said, “I have horror stories of things that have happened, like being robbed at gunpoint.”

Gadotti, of St. Paul, decided Crime Stoppers was a good place to spend her energy because she cares about safety. She started volunteering with the organization about a year ago.

Gadotti was elected chairwoman of the board in January. She and board members reviewed their priorities for the year and they decided recruiting volunteers ranks first.

In the past, Crime Stoppers has been able to offer enhanced rewards — $10,000, for example, for information that leads to a homicide being solved. But with those larger rewards comes the need for legal expertise for contracts and more work to manage, Gadotti said.

They’re looking for volunteers to update Crime Stoppers’ website and manage social media. They could also use help with fundraising.

Crime Stoppers of Minnesota is funded by a few private donations, but mostly from law enforcement departments across Minnesota that pay a fee to receive tips from Crime Stoppers and to work with the organization to highlight cases, according to Gadotti.

St. Paul Police Deputy Chief Paul Ford, who oversees major crimes, said investigators find “a small piece of information can make a big difference” as they investigate cases. Crime Stoppers facilitation of tips “could mean a suspect is held accountable, a victim gets justice and we as a community are safer,” he said.

Crime Stoppers pays for a call center that takes tips phoned in to 800-222-8477; people can also submit tips through Crime Stoppers of Minnesota website or an app called “P3 Tips.”

Volunteers, known as “tip handlers,” go through submitted tips every day and make sure they’re forwarded to the correct law enforcement. “That’s the most important job that we do,” Gadotti said. For people who aspire to volunteer as a “tip handler,” they would start in other roles and learn the organization before they’d be considered as a volunteer to manage tips.

Unsolved cases

Crime Stoppers features unsolved cases, including the double homicide of Alejandro Rios, 21, and Michael Stewart, 39, in St. Paul.

They were fatally shot in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood in 2021. The St. Paul police department previously announced that investigators are still asking anyone with information to come forward, and that people can do so anonymously through Crime Stoppers.

“I feel like because it’s been so long, it’s kind of a forgotten thing,” Ronda Stewart, Stewart’s wife, said recently. “… I’m just praying that somebody comes forward and that he gets his justice.”

Another homicide highlighted by Crime Stoppers is the 2019 shooting of Paul Fisher in South Minneapolis. The 27-year-old was returning to his apartment when he was killed.

Fisher’s mother, Patti Swedberg, said she still has faith that talking about what happened to her son “might get people thinking” and perhaps get someone to come forward with information.

For prospective volunteers

Crime Stoppers is looking for volunteers from all career backgrounds, but especially needs people with experience in law, such as lawyers, paralegals or law clerks; information and technology, such as web design, computer science or IT management; and public relations and marketing. The time commitment is about four hours per month.

People interested in volunteering can email Info@CrimeStoppersMN.org; put “I want to volunteer” in the subject line and include their resume.

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