The city of Philadelphia is now implementing changes to how it pays tipsters who help solve crimes.
The Philadelphia Police Department’s crime reward program has undergone changes and is paying out tipsters more often. NBC10 Investigators have been looking into this program and following its changes for more than two years.
NBC10 Investigative reporter Claudia Vargas has information on the latest changes. After years of restructuring the Philadelphia Police Department’s crime reward program, the city is now paying tipsters more regularly and could soon be handing out checks per homicide.“I'm glad that you aired these different articles so I can get the help and everybody can get the help that they need if they have an issue with anything,” said a tipster, whose identity we are concealing. “Four people that got murdered separate times by a serial killer,” they said. “I knew who the killer was. I provided police with information.”Less than one year later, the tipster received a $20,000 crime reward check. Since 2012, the city has had a standing reward of up to $20,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a homicide suspect. The city provided data going back to 2017, not before, showing that since then the city has paid 51 crime rewards totaling nearly $800,000. That's about 1% of the total homicide cases in that time. Philly police officials previously told us the payout amount is low because they don't get as many tips from the public as they would like. But some tipsters say the reward process has been the problem.tracking the tips. If the informant got rejected at any point during the process -- which starts with the detective in charge of the case and ends with the police commissioner — the city never officially told them. And there was no way to appeal the decision.The city is tracking the tips. If someone is denied a reward, they receive a rejection letter and there is an appeals process. If someone does not get a reward or does not receive what they consider to be an appropriate amount, they can appeal to the city’s board of administrative review. It's a process that started last year and one the NBC10 investigators saw firsthand. “Your story brought light to an issue that needed to be resolved. We asked these people to put their lives on the line,” said one police source, whose name we are withholding because they didn’t have permission to speak with reporters. Through a spokesperson, Philadelphia police declined to comment for this story. But sources inside police headquarters tell us the process to pay out crime rewards has become more efficient since we started reporting on issues of tipsters not being paid. The tipster in the Hurst killings appealed their $20,000 reward after seeing the NBC10 Investigators coverage. “The only reason why I learned about the appeal processes was through your news articles. Other than that, I didn't even know anything about the appeal process, but I knew I was entitled to additional money,” the tipster said. Current city policy on crime rewards says: “A standing cash reward of up to $20,000 for essential information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person or persons for any homicide that has occurred in the City of Philadelphia.” On Monday, the tipster received a letter from the Board of Administrative Review saying they are entitled to an additional $40,000. The letter says that “based on evidence and testimony presented, the Petitioner is entitled to a reward on convictions for…,” and lists three homicide case numbers related to the Hurst murders. The tipster hopes the board’s decision helps clarify the city’s crime reward policy.