Additional information from the Crimestoppers hotline has been welcomed by the Southern police district's intelligence unit.
While the Southern police district had one of the lowest uptakes in use of the anonymous crime hotline, it was still useful to police, Inspector Steve Kelly, the Southern district manager, intelligence, said.
Between 12 and 20 reports were referred to the district each month, he said.
An intelligence officer assessed and graded the information, passing it on to investigators.
Along with information gathered from other sources, it becomes part of an investigation.
Information from Crimestoppers has contributed to investigations, including the recovery of the assets of convicted fraudster Michael Swann.
"It's working well. We welcome the information and, like all information, it has to be verified and independently backed up, but it's a starting point. It's an effective tool."
He had no problems with the anonymity of Crimestoppers.
A big proportion of the calls were related to drugs and stolen property, which might explain why there were fewer calls in areas like the South, compared with Auckland, where there were more drugs events and a much bigger population.
Also, in the Southern district, police had good connections with the community anyway, which might contribute to fewer calls to the crime line.
Across the country, about 40% of the more than 7000 calls received in the past year contained enough information for police to do something with, Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Win van der Velde said.
Police had laid close to 150 criminal charges against more than 60 offenders based on Crimestoppers information.
Most of the offending related to the manufacture, supply and distribution of drugs.
"We're starting to see information coming through that we didn't have access to before," Mr van der Velde said.
The tips were sometimes not enough to act on immediately but over time, together with other intelligence and information, the tips were proving helpful.
In one police district, 331 tip-offs led to 31 arrests - one arrest per 10 pieces of information.
Mr van der Velde believed the more people became aware of the role Crimestoppers played in New Zealand, the more successful it would become.
