The Inaugural Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County Newsletter! |
We want to welcome everyone to the first ever Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County monthly newsletter! Through this newsletter we hope to keep you, your team, your school, and/or your organization/agency up-to-date on the many things happening with the Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County program and share community news, educational material, and resources!
Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County is a program operating under the leadership of One Safe Place. Through our programming, we help to support the One Safe Place mission of preventing crime and violence in Tarrant County neighborhoods, schools, and homes. For more information about the programs and services offered through One Safe Place, please visit www.onesafeplace.org.
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Rachel Gilbert, MPA
Director, Special Programs
Rachel Gilbert is the Director of Special Programs for One Safe Place in Fort Worth, Texas. Since 2005, she has been responsible for overseeing the Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County program, which includes Campus Crime Stoppers, Friends for Life, and the supervision of the Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County Call Center. Her additional responsibilities include serving as the grant manager for the Project Safe Neighborhoods grant and coordinator of the annual Stop Violence: Emerging Trends & Innovative Strategies Conference. Rachel has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Geography from Texas Christian University. She has a Master of Public Administration and Certificate in Urban Nonprofit Management from The University of Texas at Arlington.
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Julian Rangel, MPH, CPH
Engagement and Outreach Specialist
Julian Rangel is the Engagement and Outreach Specialist for Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County. Since joining in June 2020, Julian has been responsible for all the outreach and engagement activities for Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County. This includes social media management, newsletter production, curriculum development, and outreach activities like the partner survey sent out last month. Julian has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a Political Science Minor. He recently graduated with a Master of Public Health degree and a Certified in Public Health certification from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. During his time at UNTHSC he was an intern at One Safe Place which led him to becoming a part of the Crime Stoppers team.
We’d also like to recognize our governing board members, call center team, coordinators, One Safe Place leadership, and all those who make Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County possible! Each of them are hardworking individuals who help further the mission of Crime Stoppers every day.
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Crime Stoppers Board Members:
- Andy Corso, Chair
- Perry Pillow, Vice Chair
- Terry Hazle
- Al Piper
- Robert DeAnda
- Vicki Warren
- Debbie Schroeder
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Crime Stoppers Call Center Team:
- Jana Robertson, Lead Call Taker
- Dee Davis
- Jennifer Dery
- Erika Gilliam
- Melissa Hernandez
- Alma Izaguirre
- Jordan Jeffreys
- Rebecca Kerr
- Sheila Majors
- Ann Spriggs
- Catherine Torres
- Elaine Tucker
- Jennifer Walker
- Vanessa Wesson
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Crime Stoppers & the COVID-19 Pandemic
While the COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges for all of us, Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County has and continues to be fully operational. We have taken the needed and appropriate health precautions to keep our staff safe while in the office. The Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County Call Center is still operating at an efficient and productive capacity. Although the program staff is not currently going out to communities and schools in person, we are still committed to engaging with you and your community at a safe distance in order to prevent crime and victimization in Tarrant County.
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SEPTEMBER IS
SUICIDE PREVENTION MONTH!
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September is Suicide Prevention Month! This month is a way to come together as a community to raise awareness of suicide and the impacts it has on families, friends, and communities as well as providing resources and sharing stories.
While suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., it is the 2nd leading cause of death for those between the ages of 10 and 24 years old. 1 Locally, suicide is the 9th leading cause of death in Tarrant County.2 In 2017, there were 257 suicides in Tarrant County alone. This came out to a rate of 12.3 per 100,000 residents for the year 2017. 2
While suicide is not an easy topic to talk about, it is something we must address as family members, friends, and a community. Talking about suicide openly and honestly is the quickest and most meaningful way in which we can prevent and spread awareness about suicide. Talking about suicide allows individuals thinking about suicide to process and express their feelings while also giving their loved ones a way to listen, understand, and provide them help and assistance in their time of need. 3
Friends for Life and Suicide
Friends for Life is a program of Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County that is equipped to take anonymous reports on suicidal ideation/thoughts. If you know someone who has expressed concerning suicidal thoughts, ideas, or tendencies we encourage you to send in an anonymous report by calling 817-469-8477, going to our website, or using our “CCS FFL” mobile app. As an assurance, the anonymity of reports are protected by state law. We are not a crisis line and if you or someone you know is experiencing a suicide emergency please call 911, the MHMR Tarrant County Hotline at 817-335-3022, or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
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The Friends for Life (FFL) program has continued to work hard to respond to suspected victimization in our community, including suicide. Over the last two school years (‘18-’19 and ‘19-’20) we received 193 FFL Suicidal Tendencies reports.
- 95 of the reports were confirmed to be valid.
- 116 students received counseling services.
- 7 high-risk students were able to receive the appropriate services they needed through hospitalization.
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Ways to Promote National Suicide Prevention Month:
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Like, comment, and share this graphic which is posted on our Instagram and Facebook pages.
- Download the graphic above and use it on your social media, email newsletters, and/or websites.
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Use the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline hashtag #BeThe1To
- Share suicide and mental health resources on your social media.
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Visit our website to use our Friends for Life poster by clicking here then go to the “Friends for Life Poster - Self Harm” link.
- Friends for Life promotional material for your campus is available on request.
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Resources:
Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Deaf & Hard of Hearing: 1-800-799-4889
Main Line: 817-569-4300
24-Hr Crisis Line: 817-335-3022
Text NAMI to 741-741
For a more extensive list of resources please visit our website.
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Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County
Featured Story of the Month
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On August 20th, the Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County Call Center received a tip via our mobile app regarding a Fort Worth residence where it was suspected that narcotics were being sold and also allegedly responsible for a recent drug overdose death. The Call Center sent the tip to the Fort Worth Police Department Crime Stoppers Coordinators in the Tactical Intelligence Unit. Eleven (11) days later, an officer from the FWPD Narcotics Unit provided a disposition on the investigation, which yielded the following results:
- Seven (7) arrests were made for Possession of a Controlled Substance 4-200 grams, Possession of Marijuana 50-2,000lbs x4, and Possession of Marijuana 5-50lbs x2;
- The seizure of $252,250 worth of marijuana, cocaine, Xanax, Psilocybin, THC, Adderol, Oxycodone, and Promethazine;
- The seizures of six (6) mostly luxury vehicles valued at $161,000;
- The seizure of two (2) firearms and cash totaling $81,800.
The officer who completed the disposition said the unit was unaware of criminal activity going on at that residence prior to receiving the Crime Stoppers tip. The anonymous tipster will receive the full reward amount of $1,250 for the information provided in this tip.
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Partner Survey and Contact Info |
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We want to give everyone who took our partner survey a huge THANK YOU! With over 200 responses, we have a plethora of information to read and work through so we can best serve you during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please know that we will be developing curriculum for those who showed interest in presentations in addition to providing print/digital material to your schools, organizations, and agencies as soon as possible. We will be giving meaningful updates as we continue our work utilizing the information provided in this survey.
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While this school year will look different, the service provided by Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County to help you and your students, parents, and staff through the Campus Crime Stoppers and Friends for Life program remains the same.
- Print materials are available upon request and delivered to locations that are open for visitors.
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Digital resources for this school year may be downloaded from our website by clicking here.
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Follow Us!
Please feel free to follow us on all of our social media!
If your organization, school, or agency has social media pages please have them follow us and we will be sure to follow back!!
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If you know of any other individuals, teams, or organizations that would like to be a part of this newsletter please do not hesitate to have them contact either Rachel or Julian so that they can be added to the email list.
Contact us with any questions, suggestions, or concerns regarding Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County and our various programs at any time and we will respond in a timely manner.
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Best regards,
Rachel Gilbert
Director, Special Programs
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Julian Rangel
Engagement and Outreach Specialist
1100 Hemphill Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76104
817-469-8477 | 469tips.com | "CCS FFL" & "P3Tips" mobile apps
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