A key City official has stepped into the growing debate about the efficacy and fairness of the Dallas Crime Stoppers reward system.
Dallas Mayor Pro Tempore Tennell Atkins is seeking changes to how Crime Stoppers allocates rewards to community members who share information with the authorities to help bring wanted fugitives to justice.
Last week, Briana and Kenyatta Jordan became local heroes when they spotted Leonard Lamar Neal, a suspected child predator on the Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list, getting on a DART bus. They followed the bus and alerted the authorities, who apprehended Neal in a dramatic arrest, as previously covered in The Dallas Express.
“I was happy to know I did something good, something right. I can help a lot of people sleep at night,” Kenyatta told Fox 4 KDFW.
However, when the Jordans tried to collect the reward of up to $5,000 that had been offered by Crime Stoppers, the organization disqualified them on a technicality.
“We dialed 911 instead of Crime Stoppers. We’re not able to get the reward,” Briana told Fox 4, repeating what she and Kenyatta were told. “It feels like we were misled.”
This issue has raised questions about the organization’s reward system and its potential impact on public safety efforts.
“Community policing. This is community policing,” Atkins said, according to Fox 4.
To help lift any potential shadow cast on the organization by this incident, Atkins further suggested that a meeting be planned to discuss adjustments to Crime Stoppers’ existing reward rules.
Yet Crime Stoppers Board Chairman David Dean suggested to Fox 4 that these rules cannot be bent.
“I really value people, and we encourage people all the time to call police. As far as eligibility for these funds, we have to follow those rules and procedures,” explained Dean.
After learning that the Jordans had been refused the Crime Stoppers reward, Riddell Plumbing, Complete Fire Protection, CC Carpet, and Texas First Responders came together to provide them with a $5,000 check.
“Somebody has to step up to take care of this family,” explained Cameron Morrison of Complete Fire Protection, according to WFAA.
“These people were heroes,” Scott Riddell of Riddell Plumbing told WFAA. “A lot of people just stick their head in the sand and ignore things, and what they did was a great deed.”
The couple said they were moved and grateful for the gesture, noting that the local businesses and non-profit group “had no obligation, whatsoever,” according to WFAA.
“They weren’t the ones that said ‘We’ll pay you,’” Briana added.
Crime Stoppers is run by the North Texas Crime Commission, which is engaged in a cooperative partnership with the Dallas Police Department.
DPD is currently facing an officer shortage, creating a serious drag on the department’s ability to respond to high-priority calls, according to police officials.
“It’s going to be a very long time before we ever catch up to where we need to be or where we should be as far as manpower,” Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata said earlier this year, per the Dallas Observer.
DPD employs approximately 3,100 officers, while a City analysis recommends 4,000 based on population size.
Neighboring Fort Worth has implemented a dedicated police unit to patrol its downtown area, which reportedly helps lower crime rates, exposing the neighborhood to far less crime than residents see in Downtown Dallas.
