Happy 35th Birthday to the Texas Crime Stoppers Program

November 9, 2016

The Texas Crime Stoppers Council, which operates under the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor’s office, marked a major milestone this year. For 35 years, Texas Crime Stoppers has provided invaluable aid in preventing criminal activity and protecting Texans.

Since its inception, Texas Crime Stoppers has grown from 8 certified organizations to over 150 certified organizations in operation today, serving both in the community and on middle school and high school campuses statewide. These local programs operate as nonprofits and help build safer communities, and have collectively assisted law enforcement in apprehending hundreds of thousands of suspects, seizing $1.1 billion worth of narcotics and recovering $245 million in stolen property. To see if there is a local program in your community, visit http://thetexascrimestoppers.org/local-programs/.

The 67th Texas Legislature created the Texas Crime Stoppers Council on June 8th, 1981 to advise the Governor of Crime Stoppers programs in Texas. In 1989, the 71st Texas Legislature charged the Council with certifying all Texas Crime Stoppers organizations which plan to receive and expend fees from persons who have committed crimes and have been sentenced to community supervision and with ensuring compliance with the state statutory requirements. The Council consists of five members appointed by the Governor to serve four-year terms.

Greg and I would like to congratulate Texas Crime Stoppers on reaching this important milestone and thank the Council for its outstanding work in expanding Crime Stoppers statewide.