More tips, more cases cleared as Regina Crime Stoppers looks to new initiatives in 2026

Tips, cleared cases and reward money paid all saw an upward trend for Regina Crime Stoppers in 2025.

But it’s not clear why more people are submitting tips due to the anonymity tipsters are granted through the program.

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In 2025, Regina Crime Stoppers received 917 anonymous tips, up from 832 in 2024 and 771 in 2023. The organization said those tips led to 44 arrests, 81 cleared cases, 56 charges laid and more than $28,000 in property recovered, all higher than the previous year.

“We don’t fully understand the motivations,” Regina Crime Stoppers president Kevin Bassendowski told reporters on Wednesday at the organization’s annual news conference.

“I think it’s two factors. One, it’s a little bit of a concern in the economy. But two, Crime Stoppers – Regina Crime Stoppers – this year has done a fantastic job doing community outreach and education. And we believe by educating the public, it has made them more comfortable with Crime Stoppers being anonymous, and they’re more eager to provide tips.”

More than $18,000 in reward money was approved in 2025, and just over $12,000 of that was paid out. The maximum reward remains at $2,000, unchanged from the program’s launch in 1984.

The City of Regina contributes $10,000 to the reward fund each year.

“Seeing the success of the program, seeing the tips that are coming forward and seeing us be able to solve those crimes, that directly lead to those investigations having success. To me, it’s important that we play a role in that crime reduction,” Mayor Chad Bachynski said.

Police chief Lorilee Davies says it’s “tricky” to pinpoint why more people are getting involved with the program.

Regina Police Chief Lorilee Davies said it’s difficult to pinpoint why more people are submitting tips to Crime Stoppers, but suggested it’s out of a desire to make Regina a safer place. (Geoff Smith/980 CJME)

“I’d like to think that people are more invested in community safety. They want to make Regina a safe place,” she said.

“The fact that 917 times people reached out to say ‘Hey, I have some information that might make our community safer’ is incredible to me.”

Bassendowski said the availability of video footage from sources such as security systems and doorbell cameras has made a big difference.

“We relied on the re-enactments for years,” he explained. “But now we can go so much quicker to the public with that information. Before, we’d have to film a re-enactment, and that crime may have got solved or may not be important anymore.”

But despite the advancement of technology, he said it became clear during the previous year’s news conference that there was still interest in a return to showing re-enactments of unsolved crimes. In what Bassendowski called a “return to our roots,” re-enactments will be returning in 2026.

“A lot of people have a great connection with those, so it will be nice to give people some of the nostalgia that they have with Crime Stoppers,” he said.

More importantly, Bassendowski said, the re-enactments will be helpful in cases where no security footage is available.

The videos will be produced at no cost to Regina Crime Stoppers.

Another awareness initiative coming soon will see the Crime Stoppers logo added to the city’s roll-out bins as new ones are acquired.

People who have information on outstanding crimes can submit the information anonymously by calling 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS). They can also submit information through the Regina Crime Stoppers website or the P3 app.