HISTORY of CRIME STOPPERS/DRUG BUSTERS of
S.W. OKLAHOMA, INC.
In 1979, a citizen of the Lawton community
came to the police station and brought with him a newspaper from Lubbock,
Texas. Inside that paper was an
article where the Lubbock Police Department was “Spotlighting the Crime of the
Week”. Assistant Chief of Police,
Jack Partin, started researching what Crime Stoppers was and if it would be
worthwhile for the Lawton community.
After his research, Mr. Partin contacted the founder of the Crime
Stoppers program out of Albuquerque, New Mexico and obtained further
information. After speaking with
the Chief of Police and Mr. Wayne Gilley, longtime mayor of Lawton, the support
needed to make the program successful was found. Mr. Bill Bentley of the Lawton Constitution presented the
first check to start paying rewards.
Due to this donation, Crime Line of Lawton was formed.
In 1981, Crime Line of Lawton
changed its’ name to Crime Stoppers of Lawton and was incorporated in May of
1981 with the Secretary of the State of Oklahoma. In 1991, Drug Busters of S.W. Oklahoma was formed and
incorporated also.
NEW ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE
On January 1, 1998, Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma ceased to exist and pooled its resources and board members with Lawton Crime Stoppers, Inc. to form a new organization titled Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma, Inc. The reason for the change was to expand some services while eliminating duplication for other services. The payment schedules remained the same.
COORDINATOR AND INVESTIGATOR
Deputy Chief Michael Johnson serves as the Program Coordinator. In that capacity, he delivers monthly reports to members of the Board of Directors and approves payments for rewards in most cases. This approval is contingent upon following strict guidelines as imposed by the Boards of Directors.
Det. Brent Yarbrough and Det. Brian Ball are the workers for the organization and they serve as the Investigators. They call-forward the line to a mobile phone that they carry with them when they are not in the office. After taking the information, they pass it on to the appropriate investigator or supervisor for further disposition.
At
various times of the year, they can be seen delivering t-shirts for the
Moonlight Walk Against Drugs. Both being highly motivated individuals; they are
vital assets to the program. Either investigator can be reached in their office
at 581- 3210 or on the Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters phone line (355-4636).
Mr.
Howard Diamond, who is a Sentinal with the Lawton Police Department, also
assists with the Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters programs. Mr. Diamond volunteers his time several
days per week to assist with paperwork, answering the telephone, and other
duties.
Fight
criminal activity in our community with the facts. Share your concerns with Crime Stoppers! Call Det. Brent Yarbrough at 581-3210 to
schedule a Crime Stoppers presentation for your club, organization or any
interested group of citizens.
Please try to call at least one month in advance to ensure that your
presentation can be scheduled.
Also, Crime Stoppers provides, to groups and organizations sponsoring children-related events, a child ID program. This program is at no cost to your child and is sponsored primarily through donations from Crime Stoppers supporters.
HOW "CRIME STOPPERS / DRUG
BUSTERS" WORKS
When a citizen sees suspicious activity or knows that a crime is being committed, they can call Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters at 355-4636. To be eligible for a reward, it must come in as a Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters tip and the information must result in an arrest and charges being filed in a felony case. CALLERS DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE THEIR NAME! They won't even be asked their name.
Once the information has been taken, the Investigator will assign a code number to the caller. The information will be investigated if it is sufficient to pursue. If an arrest is made, the caller must then call Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters again and ask about the possibility of a reward. The caller must give their code number and may be asked questions to verify that it is the same person who called originally. When satisfied that it is the caller that provided the information that broke the case, the investigator will provide instructions about how to collect the reward.
The caller will be instructed to go to a particular banking institution to a particular drive through window. Upon arrival at the window, the caller will merely identify himself or herself by their code number. When the teller hears the number, the teller will then send cash money through the drive through window. The caller never has to reveal their identity nor sign any receipts. The amount of the reward varies and is set up on a schedule. The reward may be split if more than one person gave key information that helped solve the case.
If the caller wants to double their money, they can voluntarily reveal their identity and agree to testify in court about the case.
ORGANIZATION OF CRIMESTOPPERS / DRUGBUSTERS
Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters has an all-volunteer Board of Directors. These directors come from all walks of life. They are mostly professional people in the community that have seen the value of promoting safer community environments by becoming involved in the Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters program. Board members receive no pay for their efforts. All of the fund raising results are used for operational expenses (stationary, envelopes, stamps, telephone, etc.), training expenses (the president-elect is sent to the Crime Stoppers International Conference annually), and the payment of rewards (most of the money goes here).
One of the main functions of the Board of Directors is to ensure that sufficient money is available for the payment of rewards. They take this duty very seriously and are actively involved in the various fund raisers conducted throughout the year. They also meet at 8:30 a.m. on the second Thursday of every month in a meeting room at the Police Station to discuss business and receive reports from the police officers assigned to the program. They ensure that the proper amount of rewards have been paid to the appropriate callers.
The Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma program operates under the bylaws of Crime Stoppers International. This organization grew from the first Crime Stoppers program that was established in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1979. The Lawton board is a member of both Crime Stoppers International and Oklahoma Crime Stoppers. An advantage of being a member of these organizations is the cooperative nature that exists. For instance, if a car is stolen in Wichita Falls, Texas, and the suspects are arrested as a result of a Crime Stoppers tip in Lawton, the Lawton board would pay the reward. The Lawton board would then forward all related documentation to Wichita Falls and would be reimbursed whatever amount they have spent on the reward. If the same scenario is used but the locations are reversed, the process works in reverse and Lawton would reimburse Wichita Falls. If the tip leads to the arrest and charges being filed where a crime is committed where no Crime Stoppers program exists, the Crime Stoppers program receiving the tip is responsible for paying the reward.
One
of the questions that often are asked concerns the selection of the crime of
the week. The Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters program confines its activities to Southwest
Oklahoma. While rewards may be paid for crimes that happen outside its
jurisdiction (as illustrated above), crimes of the week are selected only from
crimes that happen within the geographical area covered. Although the program
is operated by the Lawton Police Department, crimes that occur outside of
Lawton are either referred to the Comanche County Sheriff's Department or other
appropriate Law Enforcement jurisdictions. Before a crime of the week is aired,
some effort is made to contact the victim and the assigned detective to ensure
that the airing will not hamper the investigation. Major unsolved crimes get
first priority but consideration is given for mixing the types of crimes to be
featured.
Another question centers on the amount of the rewards. Certainly, some crimes are more heinous than others. In keeping with direction from Crime Stoppers International's guidelines, the Lawton Crime Stoppers program offers a maximum reward of $1,000 (this can be doubled if the caller agrees to testify in court). Because of restrictions that could jeopardize its non-profit tax status, Crime Stoppers cannot accept dedicated money to solve a specific case. For instance, Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters could not accept a donation of $10,000 contingent upon it being used to pay for the solving a particular homicide. Occasionally, a business or family will offer a separate reward that may be advertised at the same time that the Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters reward is advertised but Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters does not guarantee payment of any rewards other than the one Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters is offering.
In early 1990, the Lawton Crime Stoppers Board of Directors recognized a need to directly deal with the growing drug problem in Southwest Oklahoma. Realizing that much of the drug problems in neighboring communities spilled over into Lawton, a decision was reached to set up an independent board with a wider base of operation than the corporate city limits of Lawton. Originally, plans were to recruit community leaders from neighboring towns to sit on the Board of Directors with some leaders from Lawton. Efforts to recruit from outside of Lawton were unsuccessful but the commitment to address the growing drug problem remained.
Several Lawton leaders agreed to sit on the first board of directors with the new organization named Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma. Funded by a conditional grant from Lawton Crime Stoppers, sufficient money to pay early rewards was deposited in a new account. The organization applied for and received non-profit status from the IRS. They established a geographical limit that included everything in Oklahoma that was west of I-44 and south of I-40. A schedule of payments was determined and the Board incorporated and became operational on April 23, 1990. This board has since melded with the Crime Stoppers board to become the Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters board.
The way you report a drug-related crime is similar to that of any other felony crime. Callers are still not asked for their names or identity. However, many people realize that working narcotics investigations is very time-consuming and difficult. "Suspecting" narcotics activity, "knowing" of narcotics activity, and "proving" narcotics activity are three very separate concepts. Many calls are received where citizens suspect their neighbors of being involved in illegal narcotics activities. Most of the time this is based on the amount of people that visit the suspected residence including length of stay, time of day, and frequency. Some of the time, citizens will actually know that there is illegal activity because they have been approached to purchase narcotics or have witnessed the sale of narcotics. Often, there is still hesitancy to reveal any information that would compromise their identity for fear of retaliation. There are others who are not concerned about revealing their identity and are willing to provide information and work directly with investigators to prove their information and receive a larger reward. With these factors in mind, a sliding scale was adopted to accommodate various scenarios.
PURPOSE OF CRIMESTOPPERS/DRUGBUSTERS
The purpose of Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters is to offer witnesses to a crime a way to provide information to help solve crimes without revealing their identity. Citizens are a key link to solving crime. They have more eyes and ears than all police officers combined. They see and hear things that often could be used to solve crimes but are afraid to say anything for fear of retaliation or other reasons.
Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters is a program where the information can be conveyed to the proper authorities and no one knows who provided the information.
To encourage citizens to call in the information, rewards are offered based on a set scale. Many citizens call and refuse the reward. They do not want money for turning in a criminal but do want a safe way to reveal critical information without anybody knowing who they are. While Caller ID devices are available, Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters does not use them. The integrity and credibility of the program is too important to jeopardize the faith of the citizens that their identity will be protected.
CRIME STOPPERS/DRUG BUSTERS SLATE OF
OFFICERS FOR 2009-2010
President................................Sam Helton (Center Point
Energy & Insight Realty)
1st Vice President...................Johnny Kinder (Coldwell
Bankers, Crossroads Realtors)
Treasurer...............................Cindy Gatliff (Banc First)
Board Members:
Kim Dodds (Gap Broadcasting
Radio)
Butch Hooper (Southwestern Medical Center)
Jerry Hrnciar (Cameron University)
Bill McCarley (Pepsi-Cola)
Joe Dabney (Pepsi-Cola)
Jack Partin (Retired Law Enforcement Command, Fort Sill)
Lee Sanger (Sanger Insurance Agency)
Joe Chesko (Remax Realtors))
Ron Stuart (Wal-mart)
Jim Eason (S.W. Sales)
Matt Fiel (File 13)
Amber Komahcheet (Hope Counseling Service)
Don Smith (Attorney)
Rocky Breeze (Discount Foods)
Dave Miller (GEO)
Barbara Ellis (Board of Education)
Brad Burgess (Attorney)
Karla Korhonen (Ft. Sill Federal Credit Union)
Leroy Giles (Tec-Masters, INC)
Alan Glanzer (Ft. Sill, Oklahoma DOD)
Lin Newton (Ft. Sill, Oklahoma DOD)
Wendy DeIorio (Shelter Insurance)
Matthew Thompson (Boy Scouts of America)
Melissa Mayfield (City of Lawton, Youth Services)
Tom
Hudson (Stripes Corp.)
A special thanks to these individuals and their
employers for helping make Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters a success. If you know
any of them, please express your appreciation the next time you see them.
PAYMENT SCHEDULE FOR NON-DRUG-RELATED FELONY CRIMES |
|
|
Homicide |
$1,000.00 |
|
Rape |
1,000.00 |
|
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon |
600.00 |
|
Arson |
600.00 |
|
Robbery |
600.00 |
|
Burglary |
400.00 |
|
Auto Theft |
400.00 |
|
Grand Larceny |
400.00 |
|
Fugitive |
200.00 |
|
Other |
200.00 |
PAYMENT SCHEDULE FOR DRUG-RELATED CRIMES
The
Drug Busters' Payment schedule is based on a sliding scale determined by points
as established below:
|
Payment Schedule |
|
|
|
RECOVERED NARCOTICS VALUE |
|
0 points |
$999 and below |
|
1 point |
$1,000 to $4,999 |
|
2 points |
$5,000 to $24,999 |
|
3 points |
$25,000 to $49,999 |
|
4 points |
$50,000 and above |
|
|
NUMBER OF ARRESTED SUSPECTS |
|
1 point |
1 arrest |
|
2 points |
2 arrests |
|
3 points |
3 or 4 arrests |
|
4 points |
5 arrests or more |
|
|
LEVEL OF CALLER'S INVOLVEMENT |
|
0 points |
Anonymous Telephone Call Only |
|
1 point |
Caller agrees to meet with Narcotics Investigator and answer additional questions (Note: The caller would no longer be anonymous but would be treated as a confidential informant.) |
|
2 points |
Caller actively participates in a buy/bust and/or making undercover purchases under the direct supervision of a Narcotics Investigator |
|
3 points |
Caller actively participates in making undercover purchases and becomes an affiant on a search warrant |
|
|
DANGER TO CALLER |
|
1 point |
Suspect(s) are reportedly armed and have weapons in their possession at the time of their arrest(s); or the caller's identity has been compromised and the suspects are threatening retaliation |
|
|
AMOUNT OF REWARD BASED ON TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 point |
$ 50 |
|
2 points |
100 |
|
3 points |
200 |
|
4 points |
300 |
|
5 points |
400 |
|
6 points |
500 |
|
7 points |
600 |
|
8 points |
700 |
|
9 points |
800 |
|
10 points |
900 |
|
11 points |
1,000 |
Crime
Stoppers/Drug Busters pays for information leading to the arrest and felony charges
being filed against a suspect.
2008 CRIMESTOPPER/DRUGBUSTER STATISTICS
Total number of Tips received: 472
Total arrests made: 48
|
2008 Statistics for Non-Drug-Related Crimes |
|
0 Homicide cleared |
|
7 Armed Robbery Cleared |
|
2 Burglaries cleared |
|
0 Auto Theft cleared |
|
27 Narcotics offenses cleared |
|
0 Forgery offenses cleared |
|
15 Fugitives arrested |
|
71 Total cases solved |
|
$32,145 worth of drugs recovered |
|
$72,229 worth of property recovered |
|
$8,200 total paid in rewards |
2008 Statistics for Drug Related Crimes
Arrests:
26
Narcotics Recovered:
$4,135.00 worth of marijuana
$23,625.00 worth of cocaine
$4,040.00 worth of methamphetamine
$295.00 worth of other
$32,145 total value of drugs seized
Total Narcotics related tips: 181
Total Tips Since Inception:
9,223
|
Statistics since Inception |
|
23 homicides cleared |
|
6 rapes cleared |
|
65 armed robberies cleared |
|
12 aggravated assaults cleared |
|
409 burglaries cleared |
|
14 grand larcenies cleared |
|
69 auto thefts cleared |
|
9 arson cases cleared |
|
952 narcotics cases cleared |
|
216 forgery/frauds cleared |
|
437 fugitives arrested |
|
2,592 total cases solved |
|
2,502 arrests made |
|
$262,185,078 worth of property and/or narcotics recovered |
|
$404,425 in rewards paid |
|
105 weapons recovered |
CRIMESTOPPER/DRUGBUSTER FUND RAISERS
Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters of Southwest Oklahoma has
several major fundraisers each year. The first fundraiser is the Annual Membership Drive conducted January through
April. Anyone who did not have an opportunity to join then can join at any
time. Individual memberships are $25.00 and business memberships begin at
$100.00. Several contributors give $500.00 or more. For each $50.00 donation,
members will receive a Crime Stopper/Drug Buster's supporter decal to place on
the windshield of their car or the door to their business. Anyone who would
like to be a supporting member can contact Mary Odum at the Lawton Police
Office by calling 581-3240. If you
would like to mail a donation to Crime Stoppers, please send your check or
money order (please do not send cash) to Crime Stoppers, P.O. Box 923, Lawton,
OK, 73502. Please note in the
mailing if it is a donation or a membership.
The second major fundraiser is the "Moonlight Walk Against Drugs". This
event produces greater citizen participation than any similar event in Southwest
Oklahoma. There have been more than 10,000 walkers in each of the last 2 years.
You do not have to purchase anything to participate! However, this is the event
that raises the majority of reward monies for information that gets drug
dealers off of our streets.
The event is held at the walking trail at Elmer
Thomas Park located at 6th and Ferris. The course is roughly 2 miles
long. The event is truly a community affair with soldiers in uniform, civilian
citizens, and school children unifying in an effort to make a statement against
illegal drugs in our area. Entire units from Fort Sill, complete staffs from
civilian businesses, and school leaders join together to walk. Most area radio
stations, television stations, and the newspaper are present to record the
event. Prizes are randomly awarded to participants. Refreshments are available
for purchase/donation. Volunteers including Boy Scout troops, the Police
Explorer Post, and others patrol the course to ensure no need is left
unattended. Participants leave inspired that there are so many others, who like
them, want drugs out of our area. Besides being good clean exercise, it is also
just a lot of FUN!
The annual event is held in October beginning at
7:00 p.m. for young children and their parents. The ribbon cutting ceremony to
mark the beginning of the walk for adults is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Police units from many surrounding
communities line the departure point along with crossed cannons provided by Fort
Sill. Each year a new T-shirt design is selected. This year's composition
features a design created by T&S Printing in Lawton.
Business leaders, corporate
executives, and concerned citizens sponsor the event by purchasing
advertisement space on the back of the T-shirt for $500.00. At least 20 sponsors
are needed to make this event a success. If your business or those with whom
you do business are not listed, why not see if they won't support this worthy
cause?
The T-shirts are then sold for
a modest amount to cover the production costs. Revenue from the t-shirt sales
and any excess monies from the sponsors are what pays for the rewards when
callers provide information leading to the arrest of and the filing of felony
charges against drug offenders. This year the cost for a T-shirt is $10.00 and
can be bought at Stripes (formally Circle K) business office located at 11th
and “D” Avenue in Lawton.
WE NEED YOUR HELP to make
this event another success. If you or your business can be a sponsor, call
Brent Yarbrough or Brian Ball, at (580) 581-3210. If you cannot be a sponsor,
please make plans to purchase a T-shirt. If you cannot afford a T-shirt, plan
on walking with us in October.
Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters
also conducts Semi-annual Bicycle Auctions. The bicycles to be sold have
been recovered by the police department and the owners cannot be identified
and/or located. By city ordinance and an agreement between the City of Lawton and
the Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters program, the proceeds from these auctions,
minus any required fees, go to the Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters program and the
money must be used to pay for rewards.
These auctions normally
occur in May of each year and take place in the parking lot of Wal-Mart on N.
Sheridan Road at 10:00 a.m. For more information, check the section on coming
events.
Occasionally, Crime Stoppers/Drug Busters may participate in fundraisers other than those listed. All funds raised go directly to pay for the rewards to callers reporting information that leads to an arrest and felony charges being filed against those committing criminal acts in our society.
Corvette
The Lawton Police Departments Narcotics Division, as the result of arresting a local drug dealer, confiscated a 1984 Chevrolet Corvette. This vehicle was used for undercover narcotic operations for approximately 7 years. The Corvette was customized into a Crime Stoppers vehicle with the assistance of local businesses. The vehicle is used for special functions such as the Cops & Kids picnic, parades and other special functions. It is also used for actual police functions such as the serving of search warrants for narcotics.
Many local businesses have pitched-in to help Crime Stoppers customize
this Corvette, all through donations. For example, Goodyear Tire & Rubber
started with a set of Goodyear Eagle tires, the Goodyear Service Stores on S.W.
11 and on N.W. Cache Rd. both donated 2 Eagle rims to match. Guys Paint &
Body Shop applied a custom showroom quality paint job that definitely turns
some heads. New seats and carpet courtesy of Cleland’s Upholstery, an all new
exhaust system and a total reworked suspension by Midas Mufflers makes this
Vette ride as good as it looks and the suspension parts were provided by Auto
Zone.
And of course, retired Lt. Bruce Lefebvre, of the Lawton Police Department, was instrumental in coordinating this project and donated a great deal of time and effort.
Here is what the Corvette looked like when it was donated to Crime Stoppers and pictures of the vehicle as it is going through it's restoration process!
Additional Sponsors: MTS Performance, The HI FI Shop
GUYS BODY SHOP!
MIDAS MUFFLER!
Back at Guy's Body Shop!
At the City of Lawton's Electronic Shop
getting the emergency lights installed!
Almost Ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A-1 WINDOW TINTING
READY AT
LAST!
Walters Car Show & Cruise July 2005!
Moonlight Walk
2007
Selling
Moonlight Walk T-shirts
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