Albany Herald

Photo by Laura Williams

ALBANY, Ga. -- Much like the tradition of hockey's Stanley Cup, the Crime Stoppers Cup is held by the winning team for one year.

For the second year in a row, the Dougherty County Sheriff's Office team won the cup at the Albany Area Crime Stoppers' third annual golf tournament at Grand Island Golf Club Friday.

"It was for a good cause. Any time you can get 28 teams out to play for a good cause it is awesome," said Sheriff Kevin Sproul. "It will be good to bring the trophy back home for the second year in a row."

The good cause was to support an organization that helps fight crime in the Albany area with an anonymous tipline and potential rewards for the arrest of criminals.

"The Crimestoppers tipline has resulted in the arrests of many criminals," Albany Police Department spokeswoman Phyllis Banks said. "It is a win-win operation for everyone. We get the information we need, and someone gets a reward for the information provided."

Not just law enforcement teams take part in the annual golf tournament. Private sector companies such as Procter & Gamble and Miller Brewing Co. also put teams on the links, Crimestoppers Treasurer Jamie Knight said.

The tournament has grown, and with 28 teams on the links, Knight hoped to net in excess of $3,000 to fund the organization's work.

"The tournament keeps growing," Knight said. "We hope to expand to bring our services to other communities."

The volunteer organization is made up of regular people who have an interest in making the area more safe, Knight said. Anyone interested in helping is welcome to come to meetings. The meetings are held at 4 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of the month in the Albany Law Enforcement center on Oglethorpe Boulevard.