Hays County Crime Stoppers continues to grow

HAYS COUNTY — Working for Hays County Crime Stoppers is no extravagant life, executive director Jeff Jordan stated. They’re working in borrowed office space and spend more than their fair share of time doing research, responding to tips and communicating with local law enforcement. But, over the past few years, Crime Stoppers has been increasing the number of arrests conducted from tips they receive and has no plans to stop anytime soon.

The organization began in 1976 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when detective Greg MacAleese wanted to solve an age-old cold case — a gas station clerk who was shot and killed over a pack of cigarettes and less than $100, Jordan stated. After MacAleese got approval from his boss, he reached out to a local news organization and created a reenactment, asking for tips. Within 72 hours, the killers were caught. MacAleese continued to receive calls for other crimes, which is how he realized that it was an effective system and decided to create the first Crime Stoppers program.

It wasn’t until 1981 when former Texas Judge Richard Carter met with the detective to bring Crime Stoppers to Texas. The Hays County Crime Stoppers organization is one of the oldest in the state. Originating as San Marcos Crime Stoppers, the nonprofit focused strictly in the city prior to expanding its service area and changing the name to Hays County Crime Stoppers.

Many immediately think of anonymous tips when thinking of the organization, but what makes it unique is that the “law is on [its] side,” said vice chairman Steve Meyer. According to Meyer, there are laws that prevent anonymous tipsters from being discovered and subpoenaed in court.

“It’s a tool that empowers the community to help with law enforcement in a way that provides them with anonymity and it provides them with an added sense of security,” said Meyer. “A lot of times, people are afraid to get involved in [crimes]. They don’t want to testify; they don’t want to do various things, but yet, they know something. This gives them a way to share that information without having to feel threatened.”

Crime Stoppers is a way for the community to be involved, which is something that is essential as law enforcement agencies around the nation struggle to fill positions.

“The citizens, unfortunately, have to step up a little bit to protect themselves,” said Meyer.

Leadership

This past September marked two years since Jordan, who is also a sergeant at the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, was named executive director for the nonprofit. The director explained that his role is to act as a liaison between the organization and law enforcement.

The communication, or previously, lack thereof, was a focus that Jordan aimed to tackle upon taking the role. He stated that he visited every police department in the county and asked for one or two officers to be part of the program. This way, there can be constant communication and updates provided. Once a month, he reaches out to the agencies and asks if there are any warrants for crimes that they want to push on social media.

He also wanted to focus on accurately representing the community within the board.

“Whenever I came on, literally [the board] was five white men,” said Jordan. “Now, I have Hispanics; I have Blacks. I have gay; I have straight. We cast a wide net and I did that on purpose. I want a community. I don’t want a mindset.”

Having various voices on the board allows for 22 different mindsets and varying opinions. He hopes that, despite disagreements, if a diverse board can agree on what’s best for the residents, maybe it will translate into the community.

“I’ve had conversations with board members going, ‘Hey, what do you think about this because somebody didn’t like how we worded it.’ And they’ll tell and I’ll say, ‘Okay I get that. I get what you’re saying,’” Jordan explained. “It helps me grow not just as a person, but as a law enforcement officer.”

The board also has bylaws that are regularly updated, one of them being that it is required for a board member to reside within Hays County.

Another change that is occurring is the types of tips Crime Stoppers is taking. Previously, they focused on felony tips, but now they have begun taking on any type, such as suicidal concerns, reckless driving and more.

“I always hate whenever somebody says that their issue is not important. If it happened to you, it’s important,” emphasized the director.

Community response

With the rise in the prevalence of fentanyl, Jordan said that they’ve noticed a higher participation of children because they want to simply keep their friends safe. In order to adjust to this change in clientele, they are educating school resource officers on how students can provide anonymous tips.

“[Students want] to protect their anonymity because that’s a big thing for them. They don’t want to be seen as snitch or anything like that and we’re working hard to try to get rid of that terminology amongst them because it's not about snitching,” said Jordan. “We’ve seen an increase where kids are using it more to make sure that their friends are safe, if nothing else.”

For example, a tip that came in about a fentanyl dealer from a student was followed up with the concern that they were afraid of their friend dying. Jordan stressed that’s what this is about. That despite a tip perhaps not leading to an arrest, it could potentially save their friends down the line.

Students can also anonymously report bullies, suicidal concerns about friends or drug addiction.

Just like adults, children are also eligible for the reward if their tip leads to an arrest, though not all residents are claiming it. Crime Stoppers has always been a program that rewards citizens for helping solve a crime through their tip via a point system that determines the amount awarded. Typically, the maximum reward is $1,000, but the board has the option to lower or raise the price.

“We’re getting more tips where people don’t collect rewards. They just want to help; they just want to help fight the problem,” said Meyer. “They’re doing it because they feel like they need to help keep the community safe and we’re getting more and more of that happening.”

Following the arrest of a fentanyl dealer, a reward of $1,000 was offered, but months passed without the individual accepting the award, despite Crime Stoppers reaching out to notify them. According to documents provided to the Hays Free Press, more than $8,000 has been approved for awards, while only $2,200 has been claimed.

The impact

According to Jordan, almost half of crime, at least in San Marcos, comes from Austin, Houston or San Antonio. This suggests that Hays County residents are not harming each other, but rather others are preying on the comfort people feel in their home. Those arrested who do reside within county lines are usually repeat offenders, Jordan said. For example, a local individual who was arrested in January this year, has been booked into jail more than two dozen times.

As of Nov. 28, Crime Stoppers has received more than 460 tips, which has led to 49 arrests. Although in 2022, there were 50 arrests, the organization has managed to nearly double the amount of cases cleared via tips, with 91 compared to the previous 47.

Both Meyer and Jordan stated that drug charges have been one of the most common charges, leading to $402,047 worth of drugs seized. In the previous year, $8,245 was recovered.

In order to keep up this work, Crime Stoppers often applies for various grants throughout the year and recently held its first fundraiser on Oct. 21. According to Meyer, there were three other notable events occurring at the same time as their Murder Mystery Dinner, but the organization still managed to sell out its unique-themed fundraiser.

The nonprofit hopes to have annual events in the future as it works towards the goal of stopping crime and ensuring the safety of the Hays County community.

“Not every tip results in an arrest, but almost every tip resulted in some more information becoming available and that’s the idea," said Meyer. “We are advocates for [the community] to law enforcement, but without them, we’re nothing.

Future

Though there has been great success in the years since the origin of the nonprofit, it still has more it wants to achieve.

“We’ve had new bylaws. We’ve already looked at them going, ‘We missed something’ or, ‘Hey, we might want to tweak this a little bit,’ but it's because we’re looking towards the future. We’re not looking at right now; we’re looking 10 years down the road. How do we make this better so that we can continue to make the [program] better. If we can make the program better, then we can continue to help make our communities better, “ the director said.

The organization is hoping to focus more on its name origin — crime stopping — rather than crime solving. Board members and liaisons are working on this transition by working more with local organizations, being active in ongoing or recent crimes, as well as releasing public service announcements on how to protect oneself.

“I can tell you that there's been an increase in burglars, but if I don’t tell you how to stop somebody from breaking into your house, I haven’t really stopped anything,” Jordan said.

One of the examples is that during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Crime Stoppers worked with the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center to discuss what the best way was to advertise a list of individuals with warrants out for domestic abuse. They were able to arrest seven suspects off of the list.

Jordan also noted that the organization is working on bridging the gap between the community and law enforcement. After helping to participate in the recently announced city of Kyle Grinch Watch, Jordan hopes to be involved in more local activities that can show the humanity of law enforcement.

Both Meyer and Jordan explained the importance of observing one’s surroundings and knowing their neighbors. By being observant of your neighbors, you can look out for each other and learn when there is something afoot.

“In this day and time, people have to be vigilant. They have to be aware of their surroundings. They have to keep an eye on their neighbors. Mostly, it's just that exact thing is keeping an eye on your neighbors [and] communicating with your neighbors,” said Meyer. “If you have a neighbor that you haven’t seen in a few days, check on that. They may need help. They may need assistance. If you have a neighbor that is acting erratically, you can report that.”

Crime Stoppers is also doing its due diligence by preparing for the worst. It has recently purchased an EZ Child ID fingerprinting system that allows parents to receive a thumb drive with all essential information should their child go missing.

“In the event that a child goes missing, they immediately have all the information law enforcement needs to be able to find them,” said Meyer “While [a parent is] in their most distraught state and not necessarily thinking everything through, [they will] have the information available.”

Meyer stressed that no organization will have access to the information provided and that it is all stored on one copy of a thumb drive and is immediately given to the parent on site. It takes less than 10 minutes and contains high quality images that could be age progressed if needed.

For more information or to submit an anonymous tip, visit www.callcrimestoppers.com.