British Columbia's privacy watchdog is investigating whether B.C. Crime Stoppers did enough to protect the personal information of anonymous tipsters after a data breach at the company that runs its online tip platform.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) said people who believe they were affected do not need to file a complaint because of the sensitive nature of the information. The office said it cannot provide further detail because the investigation is active.
Gill Millam, executive director of B.C. Crime Stoppers, said in an emailed statement that the organization is aware of the investigation and is co-operating fully. « We take the protection of personal information seriously and are committed to working constructively with the OIPC throughout its investigation, » said Millam. « As the investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time. »
Canada's privacy commissioner separately announced an investigation last week into Navigate360, the U.S.-based company that manages the P3 tip platform used by many Canadian Crime Stoppers chapters. The company also provides safety-related software to schools and workplaces.
The federal private-sector privacy law, known as PIPEDA, generally does not apply to not-for-profit organizations such as Crime Stoppers, according to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) requires all organizations operating in the province, including not-for-profits, to make reasonable security arrangements to protect the personal information they hold.
Navigate360 said it became aware of suspicious activity on one of its systems in March. An investigation found that an unauthorized third party had accessed its systems and obtained copies of some data between Nov. 21, 2025, and March 5, 2026.
The company said the data could include names, addresses, birth dates, social insurance numbers, telephone numbers and email addresses. It said it has found no evidence that any personal information has been used for fraud or identity theft.
Several B.C. Crime Stoppers chapters have temporarily paused accepting online tips through the P3 platform and are accepting tips only by phone.