Special award fund tops $20,000 
to solve the murder of 
Laylah Washington


Laylah
Laylah Washington

The donations ranged from $5 to $10,000. They came via email and U.S. mail, or were hand-delivered. They were paid in checks and credit cards, even cash. They also came along with official press announcements.
            
All the money raised so far - $20,092 and counting - has been collected and placed into a special fund at CrimeStoppers to be paid to the first individual who provides a tip that leads to an arrest in the slaying of little Laylah Washington.
            
The two-year-old was in the back seat of her mother's car when she became the innocent victim of needless road rage the night of Sunday, June 11, 2017. Since then various community efforts to raise additional funds to enhance the $1,000 CrimeStoppers award have brought big results.
            
The sum now topping $20,000 was given four big boosts: first $5,000 provided by Memphis City Council, then $10,000 allocated by Gov. Bill Haslam this past week, followed by $1,000 from the Memphis Firefighters Association, and $2,000 from First Baptist Church Broad.
           
 "We are grateful for this outpouring from the community and from local and state governments," said E.W. (Buddy) Chapman, executive director of CrimeStoppers.
            
"Experience proves that the higher the amount of an award that can be offered, the more likely someone who knows something vital will come forward. We hope that is the case this time in order to bring some justice to Laylah's family and the whole community."
            
To read more about Laylah's case, visit here. crimestopmem.org/ForLaylah.html


Successful inaugural golf tournament
will return for a second run in 2018

CrimeStoppers' inaugural Golf Tournament held at TPA Southwind August 7 was a great success.
            
The event attracted a full contingent of 100 players who were treated to a welcome break in the weather that kept temperatures below normal for this time of year. The tournament raised needed dollars for CrimeStoppers tips award coffers, and went so smoothly that the organization quickly announced the next tournament will be held at Southwind on August 6, 2018.
 
 
Sponsors of the tournament this year - companies and individuals who helped allay some of the tournament costs - included:
            
Fidelity Investments, Watkins Uiberall, Dollar Tree/Family Dollar, Huey's, State Farm (David Peterson), TBC Corporation, Splash Creative, Hedge Farm, Lewis Allen Jones, Gary and Frances Paulson, Art and Speed, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, and Sissy's Log Cabin.
            
Two of our sponsors already have indicated they want to return to support next year's tournament! We appreciate their support, and we thank all the volunteers, suppliers of prizes, and especially the players who participated.

Help spread the word

If you like - we hope you do! - you can help the cause against the metal thieves by liking our new CopperStoppers Facebook page. And tell your friends, co-workers and acquaintances.

While you're at it, let them know about the main CrimeStoppers Facebook page too.


AUGUST
2017
Executive Director
honored with grads



Buddy Chapman, CrimeStoppers Executive Director and a former Memphis Police Director, was the night's honoree when 85 new police recruits received their badges and were declared new police officers in a graduation ceremony August 10 at First Baptist Church Broad.

The presentation was made by current MPD Director Mike Rallings during a ceremony filled with the pomp and circumstance appropriate to a finished training program that puts many needed new officers in the field.
            
In his remarks to the class, Chapman emphasized that the rookies should treat well all citizens they encounter. "You work for the citizens you will meet," he told them.
            
His remarks were echoed later by Director Rallings and in a speech by a class representative.

           
Cases solved -
by the numbers

Part of the CrimeStoppers story each month can be told purely in numbers.
            
In July, Real Time Crime Center records show that 23 successful tips were received. Those tips helped solve 20 different felony cases, led to the arrest of 31 individuals and the recovery of $150 in stolen property.
            
Nearly $8,000 in awards on the tips were approved by the CrimeStoppers citizen Board of Directors.
            
The solved files included six drug cases - with the confiscation of various amounts of marijuana, heroin, and Ecstasy for sale  - plus six aggravated assaults, including five involving domestic violence. Of the 31 individuals arrested, five were women and 26 were men.
            
In one case, three members of a family were arrested. In another a 2016 Nissan bought with $10,000 of cash and used in a felony was seized.
            
The cases that CrimeStoppers tipsters helped to solve included the brazen nighttime burglary of credit cards and laptops from a Memphis Fire House on Union Ave.

 
Websites building 
new awareness

CrimeStoppers and its many programs are explained - and the public is engaged - in various places on the internet.
 
Our main website explains the organization's purpose, and keeps count on major cases in which police need help from citizens -  crimestopmem.org. 
 
A companion site helps students keep their schools safer -
Senior citizens who are afraid or otherwise need help can find information they can use at another site - seniorbsafe.org.
 
Spanish-speaking citizens can learn about CrimeStoppers on a fourth site -
 
Now, because the theft of copper and other metals has become a major problem in the metro area we have launched a website for our newest program, CopperStoppers:
copperstoppersmemphis.com