The History of Crime Stoppers

 

THE CONCEPT OF CRIME STOPPERS was developed in 1976 in Albuquerque, New Mexico by Greg MacAleese who was a police detective. 

 

MacAleese was working on a murder case and had run out of leads, however he felt that someone in the community knew details of the murder. 

 

MacAleese arranged to film a re-enactment of the crime and have it shown on the local television station. 

At the same time they advertised a reward that was being offered by a local civic organization. 

 

Within a week, MacAleese had received a tip from an informant that led to the arrest of the individual responsible and the reward was paid.


Washington County Crime Stoppers - History
 
In 1984, a group of Brenham businessmen, formed a non-profit organization called Crime Stoppers of Brenham–Washington County, Inc. to assist law enforcement with their endeavor to fight crime in Washington County, just as the original Crime Stoppers in New Mexico had.
 
Since it’s inception, Brenham – Washington County Crime Stoppers has paid out Tens of Thousands of dollars in Crime Stopper tips to nab criminal throughout the county, to include in the last several years, a murder conviction, a bank robber conviction, and numerous burglaries in the area. 
 
In 1999, Crime Stoppers was introduced into the Brenham Schools, where it has also been successful in removing drugs from our schools, and apprehending vandals and thieves.

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