Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers Contracts with Call Center

CANTON — To better handle anonymous tip calls, and to relieve the burden on emergency 911 dispatchers, Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers has contracted with a call center that specializes in such tips. Calls to Crime Stoppers at 903-567-STOP (567-7867) are now answered at the Crime Scene Information call center in La Porte, Texas, near Houston. Previously, dispatchers at the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office had to juggle Crime Stoppers calls along with emergency calls and their many other duties. Now, trained operators at the call center receive the crime tip information from anonymous callers and forward it to sheriff’s investigators in Van Zandt County for follow-up.

“Callers probably won’t notice any difference, and they can be assured that this whole process is designed to make sure they remain anonymous at every step of the way,” said Andy Flowers, president of Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers. “Their phone number is never identified, for example, and the trained operators never get any information that could identify the callers.” Flowers said the change was made as part of an overall effort by Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers to improve its call handling processes and increase its outreach to the community, to make sure everyone knows about Crime Stoppers and its benefits.

Crime Stoppers will have booths at the Ben Wheeler Feral Hog Festival in October and the Edgewood Heritage Festival in November, offering information about the group and accepting donations to continue its crime-fighting work. Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers always offers cash rewards for anonymous tips that lead to the arrest of a criminal offender, someone who has either just committed a crime or is wanted on a warrant. Rewards of up to $1,000 are financed by criminal court fines and donations. More information about Crime Stoppers is available online at http://www.vanzandtcrimestoppers.org or on Facebook.