Crime hotline records record number of calls

The number of people calling crime hotline Meld Misdaad with tips about criminal activity reached a record 7,400 in the first six months of this year.

This is an increase of nearly 20% over the same period in 2011, the anonymous hotline said on Wednesday.

Many of the cases concern serious crimes such as murder, child abuse and large-scale drug dealing.

The tips are passed on to the various police forces around the country which have been able to solve a number of major cases thanks to the information.

‘People seem to feel they will not stand for criminal behaviour anymore,’ hotline director Guus Wesselink told the Telegraph when asked why so many more people are using the line.