What's Hot

Sept. 6, 2007

Attorney General Abbott Launches School Safety Initiative to Protect Texas Students

Abbott expands National School Safety Task Force recommendations for improved school safety

AUSTIN – As the state’s chief law enforcement official, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today called for new safety measures designed to protect students from school violence. Attorney General Abbott, whose office serves on the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) board, urged school districts to implement new safety procedures to help prevent a Columbine or Virginia Tech-style shooting in Texas.

The Attorney General recommends Texas school districts adopt the following safety measures:

• Develop, implement and annually practice campus emergency plans. Schools must develop and implement school emergency plans and update their existing plans. Schools should team up with law enforcement to practice school safety drills once a year, rather than once every three years as current law requires.
• Establish a Campus Crime Stoppers or similar anonymous incident reporting program. According to research by the U.S. Secret Service, most school violence incidents were foreshadowed by warning signs that went unreported to authorities and school personnel. Schools must educate teens that it is “Cool to Come Forward.”
• Encourage information-sharing between law enforcement, juvenile justice officials and school authorities. Strict interpretations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) have hampered information-sharing between schools and law enforcement during “imminent danger” situations. Information-sharing between school districts and law enforcement must prioritize public safety over personal privacy concerns.

Attorney General Abbott, who is a member of the National Association of Attorneys General School Safety Task Force, also supports the national task force recommendations, which include:

• Improve reporting systems. Schools must have a centralized communications system in place so that disturbing behavior can be reported and the information can be triaged by a team of professionals.
  
• Clarify existing privacy laws. Congressional and state legislators must clarify how schools can legally share medical and educational information. When students exhibit violent or disturbing behavior, public safety must override the push for privacy.
  
• Report data on the mentally ill to the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS). Texas should provide information about individuals who are disqualified from possessing firearms for mental health reasons to federal authorities responsible for administering NICS.

More information is available at the Texas Attorney General's website.

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Mar. 9, 2007

Gov. Perry Appoints Lane To Crime Stoppers Advisory Council

Gov. Rick Perry has announced the appointment of Emerson Frederick Lane Jr. of Victoria to the Crime Stoppers Advisory Council, which assists in the creation of Crime Stoppers organizations across the state to help law enforcement agencies combat crime. His term is set to expire Sept. 1, 2008.

Lane is the analytical services superintendent for Alcoa Point Comfort. He is a board member of Calhoun County Crime Stoppers, and a past board member of Calhoun County Appraisal District, Calhoun County Parks and Recreation and Calhoun County YMCA. He is also a member of the National and Texas Societies of Professional Engineers.

Lane received a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Lafayette College and a Masters of Business Adminstration from the University of Houston at Victoria.

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Great Fundraising Idea: Anyone Want to Challenge United ISD's Record?

Convoy drives toward world record
By CELINA ALVARADO
LAREDO MORNING TIMES

Now there’s something you don’t see every day.

Local law enforcement agencies drove their way into the Guinness Book of World Records on Saturday, with a 98-vehicle convoy to benefit the United Independent School District Crime Stoppers program.

Participating in the event were law enforcement vehicles from the Laredo Police Department; Laredo Fire Department; Precinct 1 Constable Rudy Rodriguez’s office; Precinct 2 Constable Ruben Reyes’s office; U.S. Border Patrol, Webb County Sheriff’s Department; National Guard; Rio Bravo Police Department; El Cenizo Police Department; LISD Police Department; district attorney’s office investigators; Jim Hogg County Sheriff’s Department; and several private ambulance agencies.

Cars as far as the eye could see lined up at the 18-mile marker at the Laredo Tourist Bureau on I-35 and made their way down Del Mar Boulevard and Loop 20 to the UISD Student Activity center.

Many motorists along the way could be seen stopping at the side of the road in awe, and who could blame them?

“ This is something that has never been done before,” said Officer Ramon Salinas, UISD Campus Crime Stoppers coordinator, who helped organize the event. “Fortunately it was a success.” Salinas and several others thought of the idea earlier in the month when they realized there was no record in the Guiness books for the longest convoy.

Now, if nobody else beats the record, Laredo will go down in history for having the longest convoy go through city streets.

Each vehicle that participated in setting the new world record paid the UISD Crime Stoppers $125, which will be used to pay out rewards to tipsters.

“ We had a lot of support from our superintendent, Roberto “Bobby” Santos, UISD Board President John Bruce, and of course our chief of police, Dennis Garcia,” said Salinas. “Without these three individuals, this would have never happened.” The convoy met at the Student Activity Center for the closing ceremonies of the event. Participants were treated to food and drinks following the drive.

“ This was an excellent effort and a great example of local law enforcement working together in a united fashion,” Mayor Raul Salinas said Saturday after the event. “It’s Laredo’s finest getting together for a good cause.” UISD will send the new record to Guinness some time next week in hopes of making the record official.

(Celina Alvarado may be reached at (956) 728-2566 or by e-mail at celina@lmtonline.com)
10/29/2006

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September 18, 2006

BASIC TRAINING COURSES NOW AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET

Texas Crime Stoppers basic training courses are now available for home study on the Internet. These web-based courses cover the same materials offered in the two-day course that the Crime Stoppers Advisory Council and Texas State University-San Marcos conduct on-site in various cities throughout the state.

The Internet courses provide 16 hours of training credit required for program certification. It can be taken by both board members and coordinators from their home or office computers, working at their own speed. The courses contain subject modules and a final examination. To receive credit for the course, participants must complete each module and pass the examination with a score of at least 70 percent.

For certified law enforcement officers, the courses provide four in-service training credits from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE).

"The Texas Crime Stoppers Advisory Council is very pleased with the finished product and I personally believe it will offer a wonderful opportunity to enhance our individual programs," Council Chairman Dorothy (Dee) Spinks said. "No longer will there be an excuse for the board of directors to be ill-informed about Crime Stoppers operational procedures and state rules."

"Only with an understanding of Texas Crime Stoppers can our directors make effective presentations, generate sponsors, talk with business people, and speak with friends and acquaintances to successfully showcase our programs," Council Chairman Spinks added. "Those of us who have repeatedly taken the Texas Crime Stoppers Basic Courses will benefit from the Internet courses by recalling text that we may have forgotten. Our new members will add to their attendance at the Basic Course and Conference experience by means of the online courses."

The Internet courses are located on the website of TCLEOSE, click on POSEIT in the Area of Interest on the left hand side. Full instructions for accessing the courses are available on the Texas Crime Stoppers Website, in the Training Section and What's Hot Section. The textbook that accompanies the course is Texas Crime Stoppers Standard Operational Procedures, which can be downloaded from the Library Section of the website.

Online Registration Instructions for Crime Stoppers

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