HomeMy WebLinkAbout20210129 KPD welcomes new head of Crime Stoppers Kaua`i programDEREK S.K. KAWAKAMI, MAYOR
MICHAEL A. DAHILIG, MANAGING DIRECTOR
News Release
For Immediate Release: January 29, 2021
COUNTY OF KAUA‘I
KAUA‘I POLICE DEPARTMENT
TODD G. RAYBUCK, CHIEF
(808) 241-1600
KPD welcomes new head of Crime Stoppers Kaua‘i program
LĪHUʿE – The Kauaʿi Police Department has welcomed Marco Valera as the new head of the
Crime Stoppers Kauaʿi program. His duties include managing the anonymous tip system, community
outreach activities, and communicating with state and regional Crime Stoppers’ leadership.
“I look forward to building out this program and demonstrating how useful of a tool this will be
in our community,” said Valera. “It takes all of us to maintain a safe island and it’s all of our kuleana to
make sure that our island remains safe.”
Valera has already been responsible for a number of changes and updates to the program, such
as playing a vital role in closing a number of cold cases. He has also implemented many capital
improvements, including facilitating a new user-friendly website URL. The new URL for Crime Stoppers
Kauaʿi, for example, is now www.cskauai.org.
Crime Stoppers Kaua‘i is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which amped up its efforts in 2018 by
incorporating and forming a board of directors so that more community members could feel
comfortable reporting criminal activity by maintaining anonymity.
“Residents often feel reluctant to come forward with information related to a crime for a
number of reasons, especially in a small community,” said Valera. “Crime Stoppers provides a method to
report on crime without releasing your identity or personal information.”
Crime Stoppers Kaua‘i is made possible through an ongoing partnership between citizens, the
media, Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce, Visitor Aloha Society of Kaua‘i, Grove Farm Company, the
Department of Education and KPD in order to battle crime and make the community safe for kūpuna,
keiki, and all ‘ohana on Kaua‘i.
When calling Crime Stoppers, Valera will ask for the following information: type of illegal
activity, location of activity, date and time of incident, and a description of suspect and/or suspect’s
vehicle. Calls are kept anonymous and callers are given a tracking tip number for future identification
purposes.
The caller is then advised to call back to check the status of the tip that was given. If the
information received from the caller was valid and an arrest was made, the caller could receive a reward
of up to $1,000.
Anyone with information on criminal activity who wishes to remain anonymous are urged to call
Crime Stoppers Kaua‘i at 246-8300 or visit the website at www.cskauai.org.
Photo of Marco Valera courtesy of KPD.
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