Police services across Ontario suspend use of Crime Stoppers after CBC investigation
Multiple Canadian police services have suspended partnerships with Crime Stoppers following a CBC investigation that revealed 1.5 million tips were compromised in a data breach. The breach exposed sensitive information, leading several programs to stop accepting anonymous tips.
Why it matters
The incident highlights a massive failure in data security for public safety programs, potentially endangering tipsters and undermining public trust in anonymous reporting systems.
The Toronto , York Region , Halton, Hamilton and Windsor police services all announced they have suspended their partnerships with local Crime Stoppers chapters and are asking the public to contact them directly with tips. Durham Region police said they have removed references directing people to the program.
The Waterloo Regional Police Service said in a statement that it had already stopped publicly promoting Crime Stoppers as a reporting option in early July, soon after it had learned of the incident.
Two Crime Stoppers programs — Toronto and Guelph Wellington — also said they would no longer be accepting anonymous tips.
On Wednesday evening, the Toronto chapter, which CBC’s analysis found had the largest number of compromised tips, was the first to announce it would pause its program, effective immediately.
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