To continue Chester Gould’s legacy of the Crime Stopper Club, Woodstock Police Chief Joe Marvin implemented the “Crimestoppers Police Academy” in the late 1990’s, which ran for a couple of years. The Academy eventually ended because of the difficulty of committing to eight, 2-hour, Saturday morning sessions. The busy schedules of the young people who were very involved in sports and various activities did not allow time for a program of such commitment.
The Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum, knowing how important “Crime Stoppers” was to its creator, Chester Gould, decided to re-design the program to be more compatible with today’s busy youth. In 2000, the museum began developing the “Crimestoppers Youth Program”.
The new “Crimestoppers Youth Program” was designed to run for eight, one-hour weekly sessions. It is designed for third through fifth graders and is held after school, instead of on Saturdays. The program helps give young people the skills to become active members of the community, develops good citizenship and provides them with crime prevention and personal safety techniques. Working with the Chicago Police Department, specific topics covered during the course include Identity Theft, Stranger Danger, Forensics and Internet Safety. Additionally, Drawing Techniques, Creating Your Own Crimestopper Textbook Tips and information about Dick Tracy Strip Inventions are covered.
Parents are encouraged to support their children in this program, as parents are a strong influence in a child’s development. At the end of the program, the children will receive a “Crimestopper Certificate of Completion” and a Crimestopper t-shirt and badge.
The Crimestoppers Youth Program will be piloted in the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago in April 2003. The goal of the Chester Gould-Dick Tracy Museum is to expand the program into various Chicagoland municipalities and then nationally. The Museum hopes to gain community and corporate support.
