HOUSTON (January 22, 2021) – Yesterday, Governor Greg Abbott held a roundtable discussion in Austin with law enforcement and public safety advocates to discuss his legislative priorities to ensure a safer future for the Lone Star State. Crime Stoppers of Houston fully supports the Governor’s proposed initiatives to reform a ‘broken bail system’. As the leading public safety organization in Texas, Crime Stoppers of Houston identified this trend as a public safety concern early on and has been addressing this for nearly 2 years. In late 2019, Crime Stoppers’ Director of Victim Services, Andy Kahan, noticed a concerning pattern with defendants charged with murder: many of them had been released on multiple felony bonds, bond forfeiture and/or a personal bond. He began studying the issue and in mid-March 2020 began tracking the issue based on data from court records. In each case Andy tracks, the victims were killed by a Harris County suspect who: was a defendant who had been released on multiple felony bonds; or had a bond forfeiture reinstated; or had a motion to revoke bond denied; and/or was released on a PR Bond. Today, we are releasing Andy’s latest report that outlines 90 people who have been […]

Crime Stoppers Director of Victim Services Andy Kahan participated in Town Hall held Tuesday, January 19 by Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey. Community leaders, law enforcement, and residents were invited to engage in public discussion of the challenges and possible solutions. Andy shared information about his research findings on the ramifications of bail reform. Check out this recap of the Town Hall written by Holly Hansen of The Texan.