It’s June, so it’s time to prepare for 100 degree days! This month we start with our “What’s Happening?” section. Then we’ll give you a brief breakdown of the last school year for Campus Crime Stoppers & Friends for Life. Next, we’ll cover National Safety Month and celebrate Juneteenth, a holiday with particularly Fort Worthian and Tarrant County roots! As always we’ll end our newsletter with the Crime Stoppers Featured Story of the Month about a Crime Stoppers tip to lead to the seizure of narcotics, firearms, and a stolen vehicle in Arlington. |
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Law Enforcement Coordinator Training TOMORROW!
Tomorrow, June 8th, 2022 at 1pm we will be hosting our Law Enforcement partners at One Safe Place to give new officers assigned to Crime Stoppers the information they need to utilize the program efficiently and provide an update and refresh on Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County for existing officers. This is an invaluable training for officers and law enforcement personnel who work with Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County tips! Register today by clicking here.
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Baby Gabriel: A Genetic
Genealogy Case Study
Cheryl Hester
Director of Genetic Genealogy
AdvanceDNA
In 2017 remains of an infant were discovered by a homeowner in a disabled vehicle their property. Efforts to identify the baby were unsuccessful. In 2019 the AdvanceDNA team was engaged to use Genetic Genealogy in an attempt to identify the infant, they affectionately called Baby Gabriel. Their investigation led to his identity, and to the discovery of another victim.
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Wrong Lanes Have Right
Turns
Michael Phillips
Chief Engagement & Fulfillment Office
T.D. Jakes Foundations
From the lived experience of an adolescence filled with violence. A pardon man will share ideas and insights that will help us to understand the complexity, climate and culture of violence we have endured but have the power to end.
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From Parking Lots to Plazas: Creating Safe Spaces for Kids
Krista Nightengale
Executive Director
Better Block Foundation
&
P.J. Meitl
Assistant U.S. Attorney
U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Northern District of Texas
The Better Block worked with Project Safe Neighborhood to turn parking lots into plazas in 120 days, lowering crime and increasing community engagement.
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This conference is a unique opportunity to learn about current trends on violent crimes, interpersonal victimization, juvenile issues, and innovative approaches to address these issues.
A maximum of 17 hours can be provided for TCOLE and 14 hours for all licensed mental health professionals (e.g., LMFT, LPC, Social Work, etc).
MORE INFO HERE:
ATTENDEE COST: $250 per person
BUY 4 REGISTRATIONS, GET 5th FREE!
CREDIT CARDS & CHECKS ACCEPTED!
REGISTER HERE:
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'21-'22 School Year: CCS and FFL Overview |
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Campus Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County is available to 356,858 elementary and secondary students in 524 public and charter schools within 17 Tarrant County school districts. This program allows students to provide anonymous tips that will aid the school administration and local law enforcement in solving crimes. Tarrant County students may receive a monetary reward ranging from $10 - $1,000 if the tip proves instrumental in solving the crime. Campus Crime Stoppers promotes school spirit, pride and responsibility and allows students to take action against victimization and crime in their school.
The 2021-2022 school year was the 16th year for the program and the operation of the Tarrant County Crime Stoppers Call Center. Crime Stoppers offered the Gun & Gang Busters bonus reward program and the Friends for Life program again this year. The Friends for Life Program focuses on behaviors and issues that can place the student and others at risk and serves as a resource for students who want to report fellow students who are victims of bullying, cyber bullying, sexting, dating or family violence, gang activity, sexual harassment, or has suicidal tendencies or self-harming. The program is available to all school districts in Tarrant County.
Friends for Life received a total of 162 tips this school year; of those tips, 83 students received counseling/intervention services for a confirmed victimization issue.
Overall, the Campus Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County program received 1,163 tips resulting in 15 arrests, 171 students administratively disciplined, 237 cases cleared.
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Starting in 1996, the National Safety Council (NSC) recognized June as National Safety Month.1 Starting as a month focused on workplace safety, it has grown to become a month focused on prevention from unintentional injury and death in any setting.
There are so many topics that the NSC covers both during National Safety Month and throughout the year. However, for this newsletter, Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County wants to focus on opioids and the impact they have on our community’s safety.
Unfortunately, drug overdose is the number one cause of unintentional death in the United States with 67,000 people dying from drug overdose in 2018.2 Unsurprisingly, opioids are proving to be the main driver for these deaths; this includes prescription opioids, heroin, and fentanyl and its analouges.2 Fentanyl and its analogues are some of the fastest growing synthetic opioids that are leading to opioid overdoses. For example, fentanyl accounted for 33,275 preventable deaths in 2019.2 Below are a few resources from the NSC on how to keep friends, family, and love ones safe from opioid abuse and overdose:
Unfortunately, Crime Stoppers has seen an increase in tips that have led to major drug seizures, including seizing fentanyl and other opioid drugs. While Crime Stoppers is categorized as a crime prevention program, we also realize the important public health implications our program has on our community. We hope you take time this National Safety Month to learn more about what you can do to help curb the opioid crisis.
Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County is able to take tips on all types of drugs and narcotics including illegally manufactured opioids. If you or someone you know has information about the illegal manufacturing or trafficking of illicit drugs, leave an anonymous tip by calling 817-469-8477, going to www.469tips.com, or using the “P3 Tips” mobile app.
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Juneteenth commemorates the day (June 19, 1865) that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, TX to take control of the state and ensure that all enslaved people were freed. While the Emancipation Proclamation was delivered 2.5 years earlier, Juneteenth marks the effective end to slavery in the United States.
Fort Worth has a special connection to Juneteenth. Ms. Opal Lee, the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” was brought to Fort Worth by her mother at just 10 years old. For years she was a strong advocate for making Juneteenth a national holiday and in 2016 she planned a 1,400 mile walk to DC to ask then-President Obama to make it so. While she never completed that walk, her hard work paid off in 2021 when Juneteenth was made a federal holiday by President Joe Biden. Each year Ms. Opal Lee walks 2.5 miles to commemorate the 2.5 years it took to free the men, women, and children in Galveston. You can learn more about Opal Lee and her efforts by clicking here. You can register to join her 2.5 mile walk this year by clicking here.
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Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County's
Featured Story of the Month
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Narcotics, Firearm, and Vehicle Seized Thanks to Crime Stoppers Tip
Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County and Arlington Narcotics received a tip on March 29th 2022, referencing narcotics being stored at a residence in Arlington. Through Arlington Narcotics’ investigation and the information in the Crime Stoppers tip, a search warrant was secured for the residence. The Arlington SWAT team executed the search warrant on the residence and located firearms, money, and multiple narcotics.
The total amount of seized narcotics from the search warrant was approximately: $128,48 of marijuana, $1,002 of methamphetamine, $ 4,164 of chocolate psilocybin, $8,528 of psilocybin, $15,000 of LSD, $4,008 of cocaine, $58 of Xanax, $4,720 of THC pens, $11,282 of THC wax, $1,260 of THC moon rock, $1700 of Adderall, $1, 480 of THC edibles. Additional seizures included a vehicle, firearms, and cash totaling approximately $192,025. Multiple arrests were made covering charges including possession of marijuana 4oz - 5lbs, possession of marijuana 50lbs - 2000lbs, manufacturing and distribution, evading, and possession of controlled substances.
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Training, Contact Info, Print Material,
and Engagement Site
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If you have new contact information for new hires, please complete the appropriate Contact Information Form on the Awareness & Engagement site.
Print materials can be requested when filling out the contact information form, however, if more are needed a request can be made by emailing Julian at jrangel@onesafeplace.org. Items can be picked up at One Safe Place by appointment or delivered to your location as staffing allows.
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Please visit our Awareness & Engagement Google Site! Our various resources on this Google site can be utilized throughout the year to engage your communities and campuses and help realize the full potential of ALL Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County programs.
The Awareness & Engagement Google Site includes our NEW & IMPROVED Campus Crime Stoppers Operational Manual that provides a guide on how Crime Stoppers operates, answers many of your general questions, and gives you various ways that you can increase awareness and engagement across your campus and/or district!
Important Links (click to visit):
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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.
If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns regarding Crime Stoppers of Tarrant County and our various programs please feel free to reach out to us at any time and we will respond in a timely manner.
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Best regards,
Rachel Gilbert
Director, Crime Prevention Programs
&
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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