ST. LOUIS — The Board of Estimate and Apportionment approved a $400,000 transfer to begin the Justice for St. Louis Families Fund at CrimeStoppers.
“I’m thankful to the members of the Board for agreeing to begin this important relationship with CrimeStoppers and the City. This is a big step in the right direction. The goal is to get justice for grieving families and break the cycle of violence in St. Louis,” said Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed.
The funding will be used for marketing the program and for tips received through the CrimeStoppers anonymous crime tip hotline.
The funding will be used to add an additional $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest of anyone who has committed a murder in the city, according to a press release. The funding will also award an additional $15,000 for the arrest of anyone who has murdered a child under the age of 17 in the city.
“Gun violence is our original health care crisis in the City. We cannot lose focus on fighting this crisis,” said Reed.
Kansas City and Omaha have adopted similar programs, the release said. In Omaha, the city increased its reward to $25,000 and the solve rate jumped from 60% to 90%.