Crime Stoppers’ Impact in January
January was National Human Trafficking Awareness month. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline which received 26,727 calls in 2016, the number of reported cases increased by 37% last year. Like so many other organizations in the nation we joined in the efforts to spread the word about this modern form of slavery which – sad, but true – is the second largest criminal industry in the US. In addition, fighting the exploitation of victims for labor and sex is of particular importance in the state of Texas since the I-10 corridor spanning the Greater Houston Area is a major hub for trafficking people.
- We shed light on facts, misconceptions and signs of Human Trafficking: click here to download.
- We shared insights and experts’ perspectives on Human Trafficking (contributed by Natasha Paradeshi, Co-founder/Executive Director at The Landing, and Angelic G. Setchell, M.Ed., LPC, Anti-Violence Program Specialist at The Montrose Center): read here.
- We hosted an eye-opening screening of the documentary “Not My Life: Human Trafficking at Home and Abroad” which depicts the cruel and dehumanizing practices of human trafficking and modern slavery on a global scale.
- We educated students all around the Great Houston Area about this dangerous form of crime which is often disguised: click here for the students’ video on Human Trafficking we showed as part of a video conference in January.
A further focus of the month of course circled around the 2017 Super Bowl.We reached out to Houston’s citizens to help prepare for one of this year’s highlights in our city which unfortunately also came with some safety concerns. Through blogs, TV and radio interviews and social media postings we shared safety reminders to make sure this exciting Sunday was a safe one too.
As part of our prevention program we continued to educate the public on prevailing and timely safety issues:
Crime Stoppers Executive Director Rania Mankarious discussed cybersafety including important tips on how to protect your personal information on KPRC2/Click2Houston Houston Life (click here to watch the segment). On her weekly blog with The Buzz Magazines she dug even deeper into the safety concerns regarding “smart homes” and every-day technology (read here).
She also touched on last month’s vandalism case at Memorial High School, Hedwig Village, Texas (read here), and talked to Houston Newsmakers’ Khambrel Marshall at KPRC2/Click2Houston about the future of Crime Stoppers and the impact of our community service for our city, our law enforcement partners, our schools, our businesses, and more.
Additionally, we presented at the 13th Annual Local Government Seminarhosted by Olson & Olson, LLP about the impact of media in helping us solve and prevent crime. We then joined Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner, Council Member at Large Amanda K. Edwards, the ATF and the NFL Players’ Association for an interactive public safety learning event at Worthing High School (watch the press conference here).
Last but not least, we attended several community events to connect with Houston’s citizens and share important safety reminders (among others: The 23rd Annual MLK Grande Parade Midtown Houston and The Humble Fitness Connection Grand Opening Ribbon cutting).
January – the National Crime Stoppers month – marked two huge milestones for us:
On January 12th we proudly announced that we have reached 1,000,000 students through our Safe School Program. In a packed auditorium at Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School, we celebrated alongside 600+ sixth graders, teachers, Principal Sanders, Houston Independent School District PD Officers, our incredible team, Board Members (Hazem Ahmed, Lindsay Aronstein, Joe Hudson, Bryan Beene, and others), generous supporters like Sprint, Wells Fargo and others, community friends at the FBI and KPRC2/Click2Houston’s Jennifer Reyna (click here to watch).
Exactly 2 weeks later a dream came true: Together with 250+ community leaders, partners and supporters, we officially cut the ribbon and opened the doors to “The Dave Ward Building – Crime Stoppers of Houston” – the first-ever headquarters of its kind anywhere in the world! THANK YOU to all of you who joined us for this unforgettable moment and even more to all of you who deeply believe in our mission and have given so generously to this project.
Watch the video of the ceremony here and read what ED Rania Mankarious shares about the women behind the movement.
Apart from our crime prevention and safety education efforts this past month we continued working closely with Houston’s law enforcement to get criminals off our streets and behind bars:
On January 27th we were happy to share that the woman accused of assaulting an elderly, disabled woman in Memorial Village was captured and put in police custody. Crime Stoppers of Houston had worked closely with Memorial Villages Police Department and Chief JD Sanders on this case.
For detailed numbers on our Tip Line please read below:
During the month of January the Crime Stoppers Tip Line:
- Received 561 tips
- 3 tips – Solved felony cases
- 37 tips – Executed felony warrants
- Arrested 35 suspects
- Solved/executed 40 cases
- Cleared 37 offense reports
- Paid 35 anonymous tipsters
- Solved 3 school cases
Below is one of the case solved by Crime Stoppers in January:
On December 27, 2016, the complainant in this case met a female on Social Media. He would later pick her up and take her to his apartment. While at the apartment, the complainant left her in the living room and went to bathroom. When he returned, she was at the front door with his wallet and cellular telephone.
The female suspect ran from the apartment and he attempted to run after her. Once outside, the suspect and three male accomplices cut him off and prevented him from leaving. One of the male suspects pointed a gun to his face while the other two men beat him. All of the suspects then left the location in the complainant’s vehicle. In addition to this, the complainant found that several other items had been stolen, including his laptop computer. The suspects would later be arrested on an unrelated traffic stop and the property that was stolen from the complainant was recovered. The complainant was contacted and after verifying these were the same suspects, robbery charges were filed. The female suspect was allowed to post bond on the robbery but after failing to show up for court, a felony aggravated robbery warrant was filed on January 25, 2017.
On January 31, 2017, a tipster called Crime Stoppers and shared information on the location of the female suspect wanted in this case. The female suspect was ultimately found hiding in the bathroom of an apartment two doors down from where the warrant team initially checked. She got arrested and charged for Aggravated Robbery with a Deadly Weapon.
During the month of January, Crime Stoppers of Houston:
- Held 46 Safe School presentations and 1 video conference presentation
- Trained 5,849 students
- Reached 655 teachers/law enforcement members
- Reached 46 parents
Posted by on 1 Feb 2017