PALESTINE, Ill. - Palestine Police Chief Jeff Besing has announced more information released on the situation with the recent burglary of the Saratoga Tavern in town.
Besing said that the Palestine Police Department requested a $300 cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the individuals responsible for the burglary to the Saratoga Tavern in December 2018. The Crawford County Crimestoppers program authorized that request and upon receiving valuable information towards this investigation which resulted in two 18-year-old male subjects being arrested, that particular $300 cash reward was granted and paid.
All sources of information/tips/leads to any criminal investigation is done so in a manner where the individual does not have to provide their identification when making calls to the Crimestopper Hotline (1-888-596-7867). That way it is kept completely anonymous.
Chief Besing would like to reinforce to the public that anytime they witness a crime taking place or have information regarding to an investigation which may result in the suspect(s) being arrested, the public needs to step up and make this call to the Crimestopper Hotline. The dollar amount of the rewards are determined by the type of crime committed and then presented to the Crime-stoppers board for their determination of the reward amount to be set and approved.
"When I was a detective several years ago, the crime-stopper system was used more often that it is used today," Besing said. "More crimes were solved through the help of the community doing the right thing in that if 'they saw something, they said something.' Help protect your neighborhood by watching out for your neighbors and reporting any information that you may have."