Grimes  County Crime Stoppers, Inc.
 Board of Directors and Advisory Members
 (Effective January 1, 2007)

GRIMES COUNTY CRIME STOPPERS

WHAT IS CRIME STOPPERS?  Crime Stoppers is not a law enforcement organization.  It is a civilian, non-profit Corporation established within a community to set up a Hotline to receive anonymous tips about criminal activity or wanted felons.  Tips received by Crime Stoppers are passed along to the law enforcement agency with the jurisdiction and responsibility for investigating the crime being reported.

THE CONCEPT OF CRIME STOPPERS was developed in 1976 in Albuquerque, New Mexico by Greg MacAleese who was a police detective.  MacAleese was working on a murder case and had run out of leads, however he felt that someone in the community knew details of the murder.  MacAleese arranged to film a re-enactment of the crime and have it shown on the local television station.  At the same time they advertised a reward that was being offered by a local civic organization.  Within a week, MacAleese had received a tip from an informant that led to the arrest of the individual responsible and the reward was paid.

CRIME STOPPERS PROGRAMS have grown to approximately 1154 in the United States, Canada, Africa, Australia, England, and the Netherlands.  These programs operating through April 27, 2003 are collectively responsible for solving more than 937,155 felony cases and recovering more than $5.5 billion in stolen property and illegal narcotics.

THERE ARE THREE LEVELS OF CRIME STOPPERS PROGRAMS:  local non-profit programs, statewide organizations (Texas Crime Stoppers and New Mexico Crime Stoppers), and Crime Stoppers International, Incorporated (CSI, a non-profit corporation designed to promote crime stoppers programs throughout the world, assist in coordinating and exchanging information among state and local programs, providing legal support to it members, and holding an annual conference which is used as a training opportunity).

THE COORDINATOR, Chief Investigator (NONE), is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Grimes County Crime Stoppers program.  Operations include:

• assuring that the Hotline is answered 24 hours a day/365 days a year;
• assigning code numbers to the callers;
• processing and assigning tips to law enforcement for follow-up;
• maintaining informant files and criminal intelligence files;
• compiling monthly statistical reports to the Board;
• making recommendations to the Board on reward amounts;
• statistical reports to Texas Governor’s Crime Stoppers Advisory Council and Crime Stoppers International;
• preparing bulletins and coordinating the production of the Crime of the Week;
• preparing bulletins on the “WANTED” person;
• conducting local training programs;
• organizing trips to training seminars and conferences;
• and publicizing and promoting the Program.

Here is how reporting a crime works:

The phone is answered by the dispatcher.  The phone is in a highly secure room.

The caller is asked for all information about the crime.  The form is filled out in detail. The caller is given an ID number. Caller will

call back at a later date to see if the reward will be paid.  Caller must give the ID number.

The crime is investigated and if it turns out that it  is legitimate, when the caller calls back  that person  will be told where to go to pick up

an envelope containing the amount of money (cash) specified for the reward, which is determined by a vote by the board of directors.

No questions asked.  Don't ever worry that anyone will find out who called in the tip.