Crime Stoppers of Grey Bruce suspends tips after P3 data breach

Crime Stoppers of Grey Bruce has stopped taking tips, effective immediately and until further notice.

In a notice posted on its website Thursday, the program's board of directors said it voted to suspend the collection of tips.

"Please do not submit tips to Crime Stoppers of Grey Bruce at this time, whether by phone, online, or through the P3 Tips app," the notice says.

The board said its tip management platform, P3, is provided by a third-party vendor, Navigate360, which "experienced a data security incident earlier this year affecting Crime Stoppers programs across Canada."

The notice does not say whether any Grey Bruce tips were affected. The board said it is "working to understand what this incident means for our program" and will post updates on its website.

The move follows a CBC News investigation published Wednesday that reported more than 1.5 million tips sent to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs were exposed in the breach. Toronto Crime Stoppers paused its program Wednesday night, and Toronto police said they have temporarily suspended their use of Crime Stoppers.

What is known about the breach

Toronto Crime Stoppers chair Sean Sportun said in a statement Wednesday that hackers stole data from P3 in March 2026. He said Navigate360 told the program in June that tips submitted between January 2022 and November 2025 were affected, and later put the number of Toronto tips at 176,859, of which 12,392 may contain personal information. Toronto Crime Stoppers has paused its program and says Navigate360 has not given it the text of the stolen tips.

CBC News reported that its analysis of the stolen data found more than 1.5 million tips sent to Canadian Crime Stoppers programs over about 25 years, and that roughly half included personal information such as addresses or phone numbers. Those figures come from CBC's own analysis and have not been confirmed by Crime Stoppers or Navigate360.

The RCMP told CBC it was first advised that Canadian data had not been affected, then learned in May 2026 that Canadian data was involved. It said it is working with the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association to determine the full scope of the incident and has not received reports of anyone being threatened.

In a statement to CBC, the Canadian Crime Stoppers Association said it is assessing with the platform provider what records and personal information may have been affected. Navigate360 did not respond to requests for comment from CBC or Global News.

No date has been given for when tips will resume in Grey Bruce or Toronto. The Banner could find no public statement from the federal or Ontario privacy commissioner on the breach.

What to do instead

In an emergency or for a crime in progress, call 911.

For non-emergency matters, the board says to contact the police service for your community:

• Owen Sound Police Service: 519-376-1234
• Hanover Police Service: 519-364-2411
• West Grey Police Service: 519-371-6911 or 1-855-234-8224
• Saugeen Shores Police Service: 519-832-2500
• Ontario Provincial Police (all other Grey and Bruce communities, including Chatsworth): 1-888-310-1122, TTY 1-888-310-1133

The board notes that information given directly to police does not go through Crime Stoppers and is not covered by its anonymity program.

Questions can be sent to the board at chair@cstip.ca.

Sources: Crime Stoppers of Grey Bruce, Oct. 22, 2026; Toronto Police Service, Oct. 21, 2026; CBC News, Oct. 21, 2026; Global News, Oct. 22, 2026.