Crime Stoppers NT boosts online crime solving capabilities

Sharing what you know with the Territory’s most trusted crime information reporting service just got a lot easier, with Crime Stoppers Northern Territory taking the wraps off a brand-new website.

The technology investment reflects the growing trend of people opting to go online to provide information to Crime Stoppers, with the updated website and reporting portal providing a fit-for-purpose platform and a great user experience.

Crime Stoppers NT Chair, Ms Catherine Phillips said one of the most exciting aspects of the new website was integration of ToR technology (as known as an onion router) for people wanting to provide tips online.

“When you submit a tip through our website, your IP address, details of the computer you are using and your location are not recorded. An online tip passes through a minimum of three different global servers or nodes, each providing a separate layer of encryption before the report reaches its destination – which means the information being shared cannot be intercepted, modified or read and the source of the document received cannot be backtracked,” Ms Phillips said.

“We have also added a “Quick Exit” button on every page as part of a safer browsing experience, which allows a visitor to quickly leave if they don’t want someone to see that they are looking at Crime Stoppers information,” she said.

“Boosting our technology and online capability in this way ultimately helps to encourage people in the community to share what they know without saying who they are from the convenience of their home, work or some other safe place, and then swiftly pass that information to police and other authorities so they can act upon it and deliver real results.”

The new website provides a one-stop shop for anyone wanting to contact Crime Stoppers in the NT, access the latest crime prevention information about how to stay safe, and learn more about a range of award-winning initiatives.

“The development of a new website brings Northern Territory into line with other Crime Stoppers jurisdictions around Australia, and in our 25th anniversary year this was a perfect opportunity to make a significant statement about our use of online and mobile technologies to engage the community,” Ms Phillips said.

“This investment also delivers on findings of independent research conducted in 2020, which found that 65% of people prefer the convenience of contacting Crime Stoppers via a secure and accessible website – particularly for those under 18 year’s old, between 20-29 years and the 40-49 year old cohort.”

The website has optimized responsiveness for use on smartphones and other devices, eliminating the need for a dedicated app.

Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or suspicious behaviour should call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or going to https://crimestoppersnt.com.au/

To find out more about the ToR network, watch this short video.