Some Canadian police services continue to promote Crime Stoppers despite a data breach that may have exposed identifying information included in anonymous tips.
Meanwhile, other police services have suspended their use of the program over the breach involving Navigate360, the U.S.-based company that manages Crime Stoppers’ P3 tip platform.
Navigate360 said last week that a third party accessed one of its systems and copied data between Nov. 21, 2025, and March 5, 2026.
Names, addresses and other sensitive information may have been affected, though Navigate360 said the data involved varies from person to person.
Despite concerns surrounding the breach, police services such as the Calgary Police Service (CPS) continue to promote Crime Stoppers in news releases.
“We have engaged directly with Crime Stoppers Canada to learn more about how the breach occurred, and we are satisfied that the additional security measures they have put in place provide strong protection for their database,” a CPS spokesperson told Global News in an email.
“We are continuing to accept tips through Crime Stoppers.”
Why is Crime Stoppers still being promoted?
Crime Stoppers tips have “historically been a valuable source of information” that helps investigators advance cases and solve crimes, the spokesperson said.
Jessica Kingsbury, director of media relations for the RCMP, echoed that sentiment.
“Crime Stoppers is an important public safety tool, providing individuals with an alternative to share information that can assist police investigations and help prevent and solve crime,” she said in a statement.
Some RCMP detachments in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and British Columbia promoted Crime Stoppers in news releases this week.
Kingsbury said the RCMP is working with the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association to determine the full scope of the breach.
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“We are actively assessing any potential impacts on operations, as are other police services,” she said.
“We will continue to work closely with Crime Stoppers Canada to review the systems and processes used by the program, identify any further security enhancements, and strengthen safeguards.”
Sean Sparling, a former deputy chief of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service, previously told Global News officers across Canada use Crime Stoppers “on a daily basis.”
He said he relied on Crime Stoppers for many of his own investigations.
“Knowing Crime Stoppers and how well it’s organized, how well it works and its importance to the law enforcement community and the safety of our communities, I fully expect they’re going to recover from this,” Sparling said.
How could anonymous tips contain identifying information?
Sean Sportun, chair of Toronto Crime Stoppers, said last week people sometimes include identifying details to explain what they saw in their tips.
Before a tip goes to investigators, Crime Stoppers’ practice is to remove those details, Sportun said. However, some of those original tips containing potentially identifying information were stolen, he added.
Specifically, 176,859 tips submitted through Toronto Crime Stoppers’ software between January 2022 and November 2025 were affected, including 12,392 that may contain personal information, Sportun said. Navigate360 later supplied a separate list containing 14,973 names.
However, Sportun said the list “lacks detail necessary to measure the risk involved” because it did not identify who the names belonged to.
Toronto Crime Stoppers has paused phone, online and app-based tip intake while seeking more information from Navigate360.
Navigate360, which also provides software to some schools in the U.S., said it has found no evidence the personal information exposed has been used for fraud or identity theft.
The company said it remains dedicated to ensuring the privacy and security of the information under its control.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is investigating the security safeguards Navigate360 had in place at the time of the breach to determine the organization’s compliance with Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law.
Can you still submit information to police?
Police services that have suspended their use of Crime Stoppers said members of the public can submit information through regular police-reporting channels, although those methods are not anonymous.
Anyone facing an immediate emergency should call 911.
Kingsbury said tipsters using Crime Stoppers should not provide their own name, contact information or other details that could identify them.
The CPS spokesperson said anyone who believes they are being threatened or intimidated, or has concerns for their safety because of the breach, should contact police in their area.
Furthermore, anyone concerned about whether their personal information was affected should contact Crime Stoppers directly, the spokesperson added.
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
