Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.comm
The first reward for information that led to a conviction of a drug dealer has been paid out, according to Bucks County Crime Stoppers.
The nonprofit said the “major reward” coincides with the Push Out The Pusher campaign’s first anniversary. While they declined to release details on the reward amount and name of the drug pusher convicted, organizers did say it came from Falls Township.
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With support from law enforcement, community members, and elected officials, the Push Out The Pusher campaign launched last summer and dotted the area with signs that feature a phone number people can call to report a drug dealer. At the time, it was announced that rewards for information that leads to the conviction of a drug dealer could hit as high as $5,000.
Melanie Bidlingmaier, who is helping lead the program, said another case is working its way through the system and is expected to also lead to a reward payment.
“Since we started tips have come pouring in from every corner of Bucks County. Some from outside as well, as people from Philadelphia and New Jersey, have heard about our effort and wanted to bring it to their city or town. Bucks County Crime Stoppers, which started the Push Out The Pusher campaign, is a non-profit community-based organization that combines the cooperative efforts of the community and law enforcement in the fight against crime,” the organization said in a press release.
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Organizers said their Push Out The Pusher signs sends a message to drug dealers.
“[Drug dealers] have taken notice. Our goal is to have as many households and businesses in our county displaying these Push Out The Pusher yard signs and letting these dealers know they are on notice,” the group said. “We are watching you and you are not welcome in our community.”
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“We have declared war on the heroin and opioid dealers who are preying on our children, families, and community.”
Over the past five years, Bucks County ramped up the effort to target the drug epidemic. In recent years, county detectives have started their own narcotics task force and continued to work with outside agencies and municipal officers to try to trace drug supply chains to their routes.
The Bucks County Crime Stoppers tip line is 215-345-DRUG (3784).
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