Officials announce increased Crime Stoppers incentives as gun violence remains concern in South Bend

SOUTH BEND — Gun violence in South Bend dipped last year after record highs in 2020, with both shootings and fatal shootings falling slightly.

But the 121 criminally assaulted shootings in 2021 are still the second most in recent memory and law enforcement officials are increasing the rewards given to anonymous tipsters on gun violence cases in an effort to stem the problem.

Of last year’s 121 shootings — which do not include accidental shootings or suicides — 19 were fatal. In 2020, South Bend Police Department data showed 133 shootings, 23 of which were fatal. In 2019, 109 people were shot, while 2018 saw 78 shootings, 2017 saw 102 and 2016 saw 81.

St. Joseph County police reported four shootings in its jurisdiction in 2021, compared to 3 in 2020.

In response to a Tribune records request, the Mishawaka Police Department said it does not have any data tracking the number of criminally assaulted shootings in the city and was unable to say how many shootings occurred in the last year.

Increased Crime Stoppers rewards

Even with the slight decrease in shootings in 2021, police are still concerned with the overall level of gun violence in South Bend, as the department has reported eight shootings with 13 victims so far in 2022.

In the hopes of solving more shooting investigations, local police agencies announced Tuesday that Michiana Crime Stoppers is increasing the reward for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest or solving of any felony committed with a firearm.

The move comes weeks after Crime Stoppers increased the reward for tips in homicide investigations and officials say the changes will make people in the community more willing to come forward with information.

“We know that our fight against violence in our community is going to take the whole community’s effort,” said South Bend Mayor James Mueller on Tuesday. “We need your help to make this possible and this is a way in which we’re incentivizing you to help us curb the violence problem in our community.”

Tips that result in arrests in felonies involving firearms will now automatically pay out $1,000 as opposed to rewards being decided on a case-by-case basis, usually in the $300 to $700 range. Homicide tips are also now worth $2,500 as opposed to $1,000.

South Bend officials have often pointed to struggles in getting information from the community as a reason for the prevalence of gun violence in the city. But the high percentage of people who collect rewards from their tips points to the fact that people do want to help, according to Lt. Kayla Miller.

Miller, who also serves as the program coordinator with Michiana Crime Stoppers, said tipsters end up collecting 85 percent of the rewards that are approved by the organization. For Crime Stoppers chapters in other parts of the country, that number is between 30 and 40 percent, indicating money is an incentive for people in Michiana to come forward with information.

“What we see is our community is looking for this and if we’re able to incentivize this and say ‘It’s $1,000 if your tip leads to an arrest in one of these cases,’ we’re encouraging people to come forward,” Miller said.

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Miller noted that police still prefer to talk to people with information face-to-face, but officers recognize that's not always an option.

The money given out by Crime Stoppers as rewards is donated to the nonprofit organization, which has a civilian board of directors, but is run out of the South Bend Police Department.

While officials believe increased monetary rewards will motivate people with information on shootings to come forward, other gun violence advocates are less convinced money is the key factor to solving the issue.

Loria Perez, who founded Connect 2 Be the Change after losing two of her sons to gun violence, feels that increased rewards are “headed in the right direction.” She also thinks, however, the new incentives don’t address the root causes of why people choose not to aid police, such as the fear of breaking the “street code" and being retaliated against.

“We have a code,” Perez said. "The community is afraid to speak up. Either they’ll be the next one to be victimized or them speaking up will not put them in a safe place.”

Through her experiences, Perez believes the most effective way to reduce violence is to reach out to those affected by it and help them realize retaliating doesn’t help.

“A genuine conversation with the traumatized is the best way to curb this gun violence,” she said, noting that outreach is something police aren’t often the best-equipped to handle.

Those wishing to submit an anonymous tip can call (574) 288-STOP or 800-342-STOP or submit a tip online at the Crime Stoppers website.

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Crime Stoppers rewards, gun violence increase in South Bend, Mishawaka