Nashville Crime Stoppers, Inc.

Post Office Box 24185

Nashville, TN  37202-4185

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METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT-Media Release

March 2, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

     Nashville Crime Stoppers and the Nashville Police Department today announce the city’s first-ever Community Shred Day, a project designed to help prevent families and businesses from becoming the victims of identity theft, while, at the same time, ensuring the viability of the Crime Stoppers program.

     Shred Day is set for Saturday, April 10th, at LP Field. From 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Middle Tennesseans are welcome to bring all of their sensitive documents they no longer want or need to the stadium’s main parking lot, where the paper will be destroyed on the spot by machinery provided by Shred-it, a Securit Company, the world’s leading on-site document destruction entity. The only cost is a $5 tax deductible donation to Crime Stoppers per banker box of records. All proceeds will go to Crime Stoppers’ reward fund, which is used to solve serious felony crimes in the Nashville community.

     Up to ten million people a year become victims of identity theft according to the Federal Trade Commission. The crime occurs when someone uses a victim’s name, social security number, credit card number or other personal information. The first step in deterring identity thieves is to protect personal information and to properly dispose of unneeded personal and business records. April 10th should be particularly attractive to those persons and small businesses who have simply stored documents for years because they did not have the time or resources to properly and safely dispose of them.

     Also included at the same site on April 10th will be Crime Stoppers’ Pharma Trash Disposal. Metro police officers will collect prescription medications that are outdated and/or no longer needed and property dispose of them in an environmentally safe manner. The American Board of Family Medicine estimates that 89% of consumers dispose of their medications improperly by putting them in the household trash or flushing them down a toilet.

     Community Shred Day was developed as a public service to deter crime while helping replenish Crime Stoppers’ reward fund. For nearly 27 years, Nashville Crime Stoppers has provided an avenue for persons to anonymously report information on crimes and criminal suspects to the police department. Literally thousands of tips have been received, resulting in 8,000 felony arrests and the solution of 189 homicides, 997 robberies, 71 rapes, 295 burglaries and 993 narcotics cases. Crime Stoppers’ reward payout since 1983 stands at $503,975, and increases every month. The funds come from donations made by area businesses and individuals. No tax dollars are ever used to pay Crime Stoppers’ rewards.

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