Good old fashioned police work and forensics are a tried and true means of solving a crime. However, sometimes those tactics aren’t enough to do so. Law enforcement often needs help from the community to identify suspects and get to the heart of what really happened. Crime Stoppers is a way for people to provide tips without interacting with law enforcement. And if the tip is unique and leads to an arrest, it could also lead to a cash payment — giving all the more incentive to provide good information.
Hays County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Jeffrey Jordan said Crime Stoppers, as a whole, was started in 1976 by Detective Greg MacAleese in Albuquerque, NM. Crime Stopper programs began in Texas in 1979. San Marcos Crime Stoppers was established in 1981, which became Hays County Crime Stoppers in 1999. Jordan said it is one of the oldest programs in the state still in operation.
“The whole program is based on securing the anonymity of the tipster,” Jordan said, adding that tips can be given via the hotline, the app P3Tips and online. “The encryption is all built into the software so that we can’t trace where the tip came from.”
Jordan said even the rewards are given in a way that protects the tipsters privacy. If the agency makes an arrest using the information given by the tipster, they are contacted through the P3Tips app. The person can go to a specified location and provide a code given in the app to receive the reward.
With the history of the program in mind, the Hays County Commissioners Court honored Hays County Crime Stoppers and its impact on crime resolution by proclaiming Jan. 2024 as National Crime Stoppers Month at the regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday.
“Crime is a menace to our society. It tears apart lives and causes feelings of fear, anger and helplessness. Communities cannot prosper if they are not safe,” the proclamation stated. “As caring citizens we are obligated to do everything in our power to ensure that our communities are not victimized by criminals.”
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra said the Hays County Crime Stoppers statistics are impressive, and he thought the program provides the community an opportunity to participate in creating a safer Hays County.
“We have a real opportunity to remind one another of ways ... that we can all come together and unite,” Becerra said. “Nobody wants crime. Nobody wants drugs. Nobody wants these negative things in our community.”
The proclamation boasted about the program’s success.
“Combining media awareness, cash rewards and an anonymous tip line for citizens to contact, Hays County Crime Stoppers has created an effective method for solving crimes and helping citizens take back control over their neighborhoods through engagement, empowerment and education,” the proclamation stated. “Hays County Crime Stoppers has to date received over 6,700 tips, which have led to over 880 arrests, assisted in clearing over 1,000 cases and the recovery of over $13.5 million in drugs and property and over $93,000 in rewards have been approved for tips leading to arrests.”
Jordan said Hays County Crime Stoppers is not a law enforcement program.
“I currently have 23 volunteers on the board of directors. They’re all civilians,” Jordan said. “The law enforcement guys that are part of the program, we’re just there to advise and help and be a liaison between the agencies and help get information so we can get it out to the public.”
2023 was a year full of arrests based on successful community tips for Hays County Crime Stoppers.
“We ended up helping law enforcement make 58 arrests. And these were either wanted fugitives or crimes that had recently taken place, and we had a suspect and were asked to assist with that,” Jordan said. “This last year was also the first year that our program ever hosted a conference. We hosted the Campus Crime Stoppers conference in Feb. We had representatives from campus Crime Stopper programs: high schools, middle schools, different school districts and law enforcement agencies – all coming together here in San Marcos. We had over 300 attendees. It was a way for students to network with law enforcement and educators on how to keep their campuses safe, which was really cool.”
In 2023, Jordan said the program led to information about people that were selling fentanyl, which has been the cause of the deaths of several local youth. Information from Crime Stoppers also led to the arrest of a murder suspect last year.
In October of last year, Hays County Crime Stoppers focused on domestic abusers in honor of Domestic Abuse Awareness Month.
“We posted up about 52 wanted posters, and we ended up making about ten arrests just off of that,” Jordan said. “We were able to help do something to bring some closure to some of these family violence cases. Being a prior detective, I know that there’s a lot of trauma that goes on with domestic violence type cases and that’s at least a tool we can use to help people start to … get back to normal — to move forward and move away from the trauma that they experienced.”
Hays County Commissioner Debbie Ingalsbe was impressed by the statistics shared by Jordan.
“That is wonderful news. Great job,” Ingalsbe said. “Thank you to all of those citizens that provided those tips to enable you all in law enforcement to do your jobs.”
Jordan said Hays County Crime Stoppers has a new initiative for 2024.
“We’re kicking off trying to shed some light on crimes against children,” Jordan said. “We have a section on our website that’s dedicated to that. … We want to show that our community is serious about getting the serious offenders off of the street.”
To see Hays County Crime Stoppers most wanted list go to callcrimestoppers. com/wanted- persons.
