Initiatives
Crime Stoppers is Joined by the CAC, Clear Channel, and Re/Max for Back to School, Bact to Safety Campaign On Wednesday, August 8, 2007, at 1:30 p.m., Crime Stoppers of Houston and the Children’s Assessment Center hosted a press conference to announce our Back to School, Back to Safety campaign. This tremendous, month-long initiative will focus on protecting our children as they go back to school by arresting wanted felons who have committed crimes against children including those who have failed to register. We will be featuring one fugitive each day in conjunction with our media partners and further highlight wanted predators on our website. Through community response via the Crime Stoppers TIPS line and the reward program, many of these child predators can be caught and brought to justice. The goal of this campaign is one that is extremely important to the Houston community. Executive Directors Katherine Cabaniss and Elaine Stolte of Crime Stoppers of Houston and The Children’s Assessment Center, respectively, will be hosting the conference. Each will discuss different aspects of the Back to School, Back to Safety initiative. Crime Stoppers is determined to target wanted offenders who victimize our children by making sure they are not able to hide in our communities. By raising awareness and simultaneously giving people the tools they need to report these fugitives’ whereabouts, arrests can be made and our children and county become safer. The Children’s Assessment Center focuses on the children themselves. The Children’s Assessment Center will offer tips on child safety while traveling to and from school, staying home alone after school and especially while online doing homework or chatting with friend. Together, our two organizations are creating a well-rounded and comprehensive system that covers every facet of child safety. This initiative is so important that Clear Channel Outdoors and RE/MAX of Texas have generously signed on as our sponsors. Both companies are going above and beyond to show that they care about Houston families, children and the protection of our city. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of any of these fugitives. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of any child predator is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. All callers remain anonymous. View the Wanted Felons Here |
Crime Stoppers and HPD Join Forces On Wednesday, June 20, 2007, at 9:30 a.m., Crime Stoppers hosted a press conference at which Houston Police Department Chief Harold Hurtt announced a new program. Chief Hurtt reported that the Crime Stoppers of Houston Law Enforcement Detail officers will participate in an initiative to arrest sex offenders. Sex offenders who have been charged with sexual assaults or who have failed to register as sex offenders will be targeted as part of this Warrant Roundup. Many of these criminals have committed sexual assaults against children. At the press conference, Chief Hurtt featured sexual assault fugitive William James Bradford, charged in the January 9, 2007 sexual assault of a victim walking her two young children to a transit center in the 6700 block of La Salette. The Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Pasadena Police Department, and Metro Police Department all dedicate officers to the Crime Stoppers Police Detail. All of Crime Stoppers partner agencies were represented at the press conference. |
Crime Stoppers, Fox 26, and Clear Channel Radio Team Up Crime Stoppers is extremely proud of its partnership with FOX 26 and Clear Channel Radio and Outdoor. Together, the three power-house organizations have combined their strengths and launched a first-ever initiative at finding wanted predators. Led by D’Artagnan Bebel, Vice President and General Manager of KRIV FOX 26, Lee Vela of Clear Channel Houston’s Radio and Outdoor division, and Katherine Cabaniss, Executive Director of Crime Stoppers, a Billboard Campaign has been initiated to target Wanted Felons who victimize children. The first campaign of its kind in the nation, it brings together media, print and advertising, and law enforcement to make our children safer! As an expansion to FOX 26’s award-winning “Predator Check” program, and with the help of Crime Stoppers and Clear Channel, FOX will be launching its “Catch a Predator” campaign beginning May 6. Four a period of four weeks, “FOX 26 News at 9” will highlight predators supplied by Crime Stoppers. In conjunction with this, Clear Channel will dedicate nearly 60 billboards in the Houston area and display information and a photo of the wanted felons. To further increase these efforts to track the felons, “Predator Check” announcements will be broadcast over multiple Clear Channel radio stations. A large billboard at the Southwest Freeway and Kirby will also carry a general message encouraging people to report all crimes to Houston Crime Stoppers. Crime Stoppers is very proud of this innovative alliance. It builds on the success of the Predator Check program, the most successful program of its kind in the country. Since 2004, Predator Check has highlighted 151 Wanted Felons during the FOX 26 news broadcast. Seen on the morning and evening news, Predator Check targets felons who are wanted for sex offenses, including offenders who have committed sexual offenses against children. Of the 151 violent felons broadcast on the show, 32 felons have been arrested! Callers to Crime Stoppers tipped off law enforcement to the Wanted Felons location, and those sex offenders were put behind bars where they belong. Predators caught as a result of the Predator Check partnership with Crime Stoppers have been sentenced to a combined total of more than 240 years in prison. Predator Check has made our neighborhoods, and especially our children, safer for a very long time! We plan to make this the first of many priceless strategies leading to the capture of these wanted fugitives for our partnership, and look forward to continued success in the future. |
Crime Stoppers and the Children's Assessment Center Hunt Down Predators On March 27, 2007, in honor of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, President Bush issued a Proclamation challenging all Americans to “renew our commitment to prevent child abuse and neglect and to work to enable our children to realize their full potential.” Crime Stoppers took this challenge to heart. During the month of April, Crime Stoppers and the Children’s Assessment Center partnered and launched a county-wide program to target Wanted Felons who committed offenses against children. The Wanted Felons included offenders who have failed to comply with the Texas Sex Offender Registration laws, statutes that require certain offenders to register their whereabouts with law enforcement. Our media partners supported this program for the month of April and worked hard to encourage the public’s attention to these events. FOX26’s Emmy nominated Predator Check program highlighted serious cases where felons had victimized our children and disappeared from law enforcement’s sight. Predator Check was shown every single night, and a different offender was highlighted for the public’s observation. Predator Check aired a special program on April 26 to inform parents about dangers to their children at the bus stop and on their path from school to home, and highlighted Crime Stoppers efforts to catch the predators who victimize our children. Predator Check’s contributions since 2004 to impact this problem were central to Crime Stoppers’ efforts to impact this problem. Katherine Cabaniss, Executive Director of Crime Stoppers, Tammy Urban, Director of Community Outreach at the Children’s Assessment Center, and Denise Oncken, Assistant District Attorney, appeared on a Special Channel 11 Great Day Houston Program. On April 16, Great Day Houston aired a special Crime Stoppers Child Abuse Prevention Month one-hour show. During the show, Crime Stoppers’ Top Ten Wanted Sex Offenders were highlighted and broadcast to the entire Channel 11 viewing area. El Dia, a Spanish language print media, wrote a series of articles in support of Crime Stopper’s efforts during April. Highlighting ten different offenders and publicizing the introduction of the month’s activities, El Dia reached many of our Spanish speaking neighbors and informed them of the program. Similarly, the Houston Chronicle supported this effort in print and wrote a substantial article on April 20 in support of Predator Check’s efforts in this regard. The Houston Chronicle also issued four ads highlighting the partnership with the Children’s Assessment Center, while Starbucks posted the Crime Stoppers website in each of their Houston area stores and directed people to look at these wanted predators and call the TIPS line with any information. Crime Stoppers media partners worked hard during the month of April in the hopes that the Wanted Felons who victimize our children would be brought to justice. Crime Stoppers did a tremendous job inundating the market with images of wanted predators and making sure that these people could no longer comfortably live in our communities. A clear message was sent that Houston is serious about preventing crime and protecting its kids. To date, 18 of the highlighted felons have been arrested! Crime Stoppers partnership with citizens, law enforcement, and the media is an effective tool in the fight against crime, especially crimes that victimize our children. |
