By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

Authorities say the anonymous hotline used to report criminal activity does work, and a Kannapolis woman who is behind bars following a tip to Crime Stoppers is proof.

Rowan County investigators charged Angel Nicole Severt on Monday after someone made an anonymous tip to the Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers’ Facebook page. The 19-year-old woman faces misdemeanor charges and remains in the county jail.

Sheriff Kevin Auten said when a citizen takes the time to call in a tip, especially about someone they’ve been searching for, officers need to be responsive to it.

“Sometimes the right person calls at the right time and we are in the right position to make a quick apprehension,” Auten said.

Severt reportedly was apprehended within about 20 minutes of the tip being made.

Auten said it takes citizens using the tip line to help provide authorities with information. Crime Stoppers is a nonprofit organization. Money is available in exchange for anonymous information that results in an arrest or conviction.

“We can’t do it alone. The citizens give us a lot of tips,” he said.
Some of those tips are provided through Crime Stoppers, some call the office or some even write letters, Auten said.

There is an ongoing need for funding, he said.

The nonprofit group has held fundraisers in the past. The sheriff’s office has also provided $10,000 through the asset forfeiture program to be used for reward money, he said.

Interim Salisbury Police Chief Brian Stallings said Crime Stoppers works hand-in-hand with law enforcement.

“We can utilize that for investigative tools. Sometimes it leads to arrests,” he said, “or it can lead to information that can help further an investigation.”

Stallings said the majority of the people who report tips to Crime Stoppers don’t want to collect the money; they just want to get the information to authorities.

“We have calls, emails, Facebook notifications where people want to provide that information without any monetary return,” he said.

Stallings said the tip information goes before the Crime Stoppers board, is reviewed by the board, and sometimes input is given by the law enforcement agency that is involved in the tip, and the board considers providing funds for the details.

“We rely heavily on people providing us information, because we would not function without the community being able to provide us information. It’s a tool to be able to allow that communication between us and the community,” Stallings said.

“It’s a valuable asset for us and for them,” Stallings said.

The community can actually make donations to Crime Stoppers to help provide money offered in exchange for anonymous tips.

Anyone with information about a crime is asked to call Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 1-86-639-5245 (JAIL). The tips can be made anonymously or via the Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers Facebook page.