• THOMAS EISMAN - VICTORIA POLICE DEPARTMENT
• Originally published July 7, 2008 at 11:55 p.m., updated July 7, 2008 at 11:55 p.m.

Crime Stoppers has been a part of the Victoria community for over 24 years. In that time it has grown dramatically and proven itself to be a very effective tool for local law enforcement in solving crimes such as burglaries, thefts, robberies, murders, drug crimes and fugitive cases.

Crime Stoppers is a partnership between the community, law enforcement and the local media aimed at reducing crime through the solving of cases and capture of criminals.

When there is difficulty establishing leads or a case has a widespread societal impact, detectives can request that Crime Stoppers assists with the investigation.

Crime Stoppers features a new crime or criminal almost every week in the hope that one or more citizens with information about the case will come forward.

Crime Stoppers never collects information about those who call in, ensuring that they stay completely anonymous and protecting them from future criminal acts.

From a business perspective, Crime Stoppers is fantastically successful. The local program has paid out almost $91,000 to tipsters who gave information that helped solve cases. For that small investment in our community, Crime Stoppers has collected information that has led to the seizure of almost $900,000 worth of illegal narcotics and the recovery of over $500,000 in stolen property. Ask any business professional and you will hear that a $1.4 million return on a less than $100,000 investment is excellent.

What really matters to the citizens though, is the impact it has on crime.

Since it began in 1984 our local program has taken over 18,000 tips from citizens. These tips have led to over 750 arrests and solved 1,250 cases.

When you consider that since it began Crime Stoppers has had the opportunity to feature fewer than 1,300 crimes, it is obvious that even cases that have not been featured have been solved through the program. For instance, three burglaries in the last year at Victoria businesses have been solved through tips that were called in before the offenses were even reported. As the cases are still awaiting trial, more detail about the cases cannot be made public yet.

Citizens may recall the desecration of the B’Nai Israel Temple last year. The final suspect in that case was convicted only last month. Three suspects were identified and captured in that case due to a Crime Stoppers tip. In December 2007, there was a three-hour stand-off downtown where three fugitives were eventually captured after a Crime Stoppers tip led law enforcement to them. More recently, in a featured crime released in June a suspect was identified thanks to concerned citizens who called Crime Stoppers because they thought they recognized the person police were looking for. While there has not been an indictment or conviction in that case yet, the police were able to identify a suspect and present a case to the DA’s office all starting with Crime Stoppers tips. Each of these cases is further proof of one of Victoria Crime Stoppers taglines: “Together we can make a difference.”

For more information about Victoria Crime Stoppers, visit the Web site: http://victoria.crimestoppersweb.com.

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