Capt. John Babin of the New Iberia Police Department and Sgt. Mallery Anslum of the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office attended the annual Crime Stoppers USA Conference in Tempe, Arizona, last week.

The two are Iberia Crime Stoppers representatives.

The conference attracted 250 attendees from around the U.S., with representatives from Guam, the Marianas and Canada also attending.

The conference included 37 training sessions focusedon best practices for Crime Stoppers organizations. Those included changes inthe law, financial best practices, fundraising, best use of social media and board recruitment.

Crime Stoppers was started in 1976 by an Albuquerque, New Mexico, detective looking for help solving a murder. A cash reward was offered and within 72 hours a tip came in leading to the crime’s solution.

Crime stoppers USA members have solved 15,706 homicides and made more than 73,000 felony arrests since then, according to a prepared statement. Local Crime Stoppers programs are non-profit organizations led by citizens.