Nassau Police Promote GunStoppers Hotline

BY MATTHEW CHAYES

Promising that "no one has been burnt" by the county CrimeStoppers hotline, Nassau's police commissioner Thursday announced a publicity campaign for a similar anonymous tipline -- this one where callers can earn as much as $2,000 in exchange for tips about illegal guns.

To spread word about GunStoppers -- the toll-free number is 877-4GUN411 -- approximately three dozen local businesses have promised to help publicize the hotline and the cash by putting posters on their company vehicles and in stores and religious institutions.

"Forget about this 'stop-snitching' phenomenon," Commissioner Lawrence W. Mulvey said, referring to a philosophy prevalent in some communities to strong-arm witnesses into not helping the police. "This is a mechanism where you can call and have no fear of being identified."

Callers don't have to provide their names, Mulvey said; instead, detectives taking the calls give callers secret numbers. If a tip yields an illegal gun, the caller can take the secret number to a designated bank to get the cash, Mulvey said.

Rewards usually range from about $500 to $2,000, said Det. Sgt. William G. Flanagan, the Nassau police commanding officer of the asset forfeiture and intelligence unit.

The top-dollar rewards, Flanagan said, tend to go to people whose tips lead cops to a gun that had been used to in the commission of a homicide or shooting.

Mulvey announced the advertising campaign -- which includes about 3,800 GunStoppers posters and 120 T-shirts paid for by the local businesses -- at a Western Beef parking lot in Roosevelt, one of the communities where illegal guns are a particularly stubborn scourge.

The anti-gun publicity campaign comes the day after Nassau cops said they would test a sensor in part of Roosevelt and Uniondale to detect gunshots and transmit their location within 5 feet to a dispatcher.

"Within the county, not everyone enjoys the same level of safety," Mulvey said.

Programs like GunStoppers, Mulvey said, can help "begin to bring a balance to the safety afforded our various communities."

Since Mulvey became commissioner last July 1, there have been 115 instances where guns have been seized.

By MATTHEW CHAYES
Posted Thursday, June 12, 2008

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