Crime Stoppers .... It's safe and it works?!
We sure been seein alotta Crime Stoppers ads lately ....... well at least ..... since de murder of ah Army man on Sunday ...... or maybe is jus my imagination!
Today's bunch in particular ...... struck me for two reasons ....... the quantity ..... and the content ...... cuz in de Newsday ..... there was an article about the Army man's killer surrendering ........ and then 38 pages later ....... in de same papers! ....... Crime Stoppers seeking help from de public ....... tuh find de same man ...... who done surrender ...... ah whole 2 days ago!! ...... Grrrrrrrr???? ...... didn't anybody call them ....... didn't they read de papers ...... didn't they watch the news?!
That scenario got me wondering ....... do people really call Crime Stoppers ...... I mean ..... have you ....... or do you know anybody who did ...... do you really get a reward ....... are people really confident that their identity will remain unknown ..... and if yuh identity remains unknown ..... den how yuh does get de reward? ...... cuz at some point SOMEBODY's gonna find out who you are ...... and dat eh too feasible dis rounds ...... now ...... I doh know no criminals ...... so Crime Stoppers is someting I doh even remember ....... but how exactly does CRIME STOPPERS work ...... and does it WORK at all?! ..... I mean with a flaccid tagline like ......"It's safe and it works" ...... soundin more like is fuh ..... SOAP ...... or CONDOMS ...... how effective are they really ...... especially when ...... TWO days after ah man surrender ..... dey still runnin ah ad tuh find him!!???
Anyway ...... right now ..... tings so bad ..... dat altho Crime Stoppers eh lookin too ...... on top ah tings ...... ah go still put in ah lil plug fuh dem ...... cuz remember ....... our esteemed Minister of National Security ..... de honourable Martin Joseph!!!! ...... say dat crime here ...... fuh at least ah nex 3 years! ....... and as I read .... in a very funny letter to the editor ..... we eh sure if da'is ..... standard time ..... trini time ...... or dog years ..... so if yuh know sumtin ...... CALL now ..... 800-TIPS (i.e. 800-8477)...... cuz 'One call can do it all' ...... and doh dig no scene ....... 'It's safe and it works'!!!
Newsday - Page 4
Da'is de article bout de man ..... who murder Corporal Ancil Wallace ....... and his fren Noel Charles ...... surrendering at de St. James Police Station ..... now mind you .... he didn't get ah bout of conscience eh ...... apparently he get shoot up ...... and needed medical attention ....... I didn't even know it had ah shootout ...... where other people get shoot!
Newsday - Page 42
Look de Crime Stoppers ad ...... in de same papers wit de story bout de killer surrendering ...... it states ...... Crime Stoppers, in conjunction with the Officers of the Westend Police Station, is seeking YOUR help in solving the The Murder of Corporal Ancil Wallace and Noel Charles ..... so Police Stations doh communicate ...... like dey didn't send out a Memo or sumting?!
Newsday and Express - Miscellaneous Ads
(SALT from de Guardian!)
Love de LEGGO D' GUN ..... what better way tuh reach out .... tuh de gun-toting public ...... than in our local parlance ...... but is this 'gun retrieval' idea really realistic ....... again ..... would anybody 'call' ....... and as an avid shopper ...... who doh miss ah SALE! ..... I've learnt ..... that whenever dey say 'UP TO' ...... like say 'up to 75% off' ...... it generally means ...... da'is de highest dey willin tuh go ...... and only on 1 item ..... in de whole damn store ...... so dah lil fine print sayin ......."A Reward of up to $10,000 is offered" ....... doh get tie up ...... dat eh mean yuh go get $10,000 ...... it mean yuh could get UP TO $10,000 ...... so if yuh doin it ..... do it fuh country ..... not de money!
I still doh understand ..... dey have ah 24-Hour Call Centre ..... and dey eh get de call bout de man surrenderin??!!
Keepin secrets ...... in de land of macoin ...... and mauvis langue ...... P-U-H-L-E-A-S-E!
that was a sad thing to happen to those two gentlemen and equally as sad is the fact that the term "Crime Stopper" is well on its way to becoming an oxymoron in Trinidad and Tobago.
I think you have captured the sentiment of the general public with regard to crime stoppers, which is a cynical lack of confidence. With tag lines like 'Leggo d gun', WHA!!?? dat sound like a long time, Cutty Ranks,number. I could just hear some young "shotter" sayin, "well, crime stoppers say 'leggo d gun' so ah let it go on him, ah let him have it, ah empty mih clip on him!". What is that!? We tryin to be "COOL" about fighting crime!? That whole proposition is being undermined by that slogan. And what is this shit about 'For the month of June'!!??? what about the rest of the year? SHHHHCHUPID-man askin fuh 34 million to equip the police..ah suggest he put some ah dat aside for crime stoppers if he want to give people a more convincing mamaguy...it doh have to be much... yuh know this whole campaign eh nettin more than 3 guns and dem is guns dat not workin...look, the other day the police raid Sealots and all dey find is bullets and a grenade...dey didn' even have a stray gun lyin arong to plant on d scene to make dey self look good...dem gun runners doin a brisk trade right now and the consumers holdin on to their shit and, one way or the tragic next, makin good on their "investment".
And yeah, this "up to $10,000" business...how dat really workin? is there some sort of chart or table that rates your information and can I see it? are there certain guns that I should be on the lookout for? Can I call more than once? will I still be eligible for the award even though I'm related to a crime stoppers emlpoyee?
I don't envy the man who responsible for bringing this situation to, at least, a tolerable level, I just wish he was someone who had an inkling....
Reply to this
u know 2 minutes after reading this i see the TVC for the Leggo D Gun... at least they give K9 some money... i wonder if it was $10000
Reply to this
will I still be eligible for the reward even though I'm related to a crime stoppers emlpoyee?
HAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!
Reply to this