VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Starting Thursday, the Virginia Beach Crime Solvers and all other cities affiliated with the Crime Line have increased their reward cap by $500.
From robberies, to hit-and-runs, to homicides, Hampton Roads sees crime every day. Many of them, leaving families and police looking for answers.
If you know something about a recent crime or a case that has gone cold, there’s now a little more of an incentive to call in a tip.
Virginia Beach Crime Solvers Chair Mike Carey said they’ve increased the reward from $1,000 to $1,500.
"We felt like as violent crime has increased nationally, that we could do a small part by helping getting more tips in," he said.
This reward increase isn’t just in Virginia Beach, it’s from all of the tip line agencies in the area, including Norfolk and Newport News.
Carey said the tips that come in are a huge help to police.
"Maybe there is a witness that is reluctant to cooperate or maybe the forensic evidence isn’t quite there," he said. "Oftentimes, that’s the missing link to the investigation."
In 2022, Virginia Beach Crime Solvers took close to 900 tips. Out of those, 183 were used to solve cases.
The Norfolk Crime Line recorded 876. Chesapeake received 439 tips last year, and Portsmouth had 503. Suffolk had 186 and the Virginia Peninsula had 1,700 total.
Virginia Beach approved more than $20,000 in rewards last year, but $9,960 remains unclaimed.
"Many times the rewards are never picked up. We have a lot of people who are community-minded that just want these crimes solved," said Carey.
He said this is the first time the reward money has ever increased. He said he wishes they could’ve gotten it to $2,000, but they are reliant on donations.
"Our programs throughout the region and even nationally, rely on donations. There's no state or federal funding."
Carey said it takes everyone to get violent criminals off the street.
"If we all do our part, we can see this national trend of violent crime being up, actually go down."
Remember, if you want to call the crime line, you can remain anonymous and you do not have to appear in court.
If your tip leads to an arrest, you’ll be notified via the number you are assigned and you can now receive up to $1,500, depending on the circumstances and case.