Crime Stoppers reports a 333% increase in child murders!
The Houston Chapter of Crime Stoppers, a slick, corporate non-profit—complete with a girlboss CEO!—has long excelled at pushing crime panic to rack up millions in funding and donations (and a generous gift from then Attorney General Kim Ogg of ‘dirty money’—aka, money the state seized through asset forfeiture).
And even though they post profits of up to two million dollars annually, they still extract $50 from felony defendants in Harris County.
Crime Stoppers takes in anonymous crime tips and turns them over to police. If the tip leads to an arrest, the caller gets a cash prize. Billing itself as “a partnership between the Community, the Media, and Law Enforcement,” the nonprofit network has for decades been a staple part of American policing and an unquestioned element of the culture that encourages citizens to report crimes.
While they advertise their (very limited) role in solving murders and kidnappings, the online form offers concerned citizens the ability to report everything from drug use to bullying in school. They say they don’t vet any of the tips but turn everything over to police. And while a crime stoppers tip isn’t technically enough to procure a search warrant, we know police don’t really need those to hone in on a suspect and build the case for a warrant with other evidence.
The group has also drawn the ire of public defenders and advocates by lobbying—hard—against bail reform and other criminal justice measures. And the shamelessness of their propaganda would make Tucker Carlson blush.
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