Texas Crime Stoppers has been around for 45 years. Sessions cover a mass casualty response checklist, a history of national security in Amarillo and the Texas 10 Most Wanted program. Amarillo Police Chief Thomas Hover said the event highlights how law enforcement and the public work together.
"Sir Robert Peel said it best: The public are the police and the police are the public," Hover said. "Public safety is all of our responsibility. It's not just the police department." He added that Crime Stoppers can help investigators fill case gaps, particularly as more crimes happen online.
Scott Welling, a corporal with the Amarillo Police Department, called Crime Stoppers a tool for law enforcement. "Things are always changing," he said. "If we can make it easier for the public to get information to us and to law enforcement agencies, it helps everybody in the end." The conference also gives local programs a chance to share what works. "We're not competing with each other. We're trying to make the state safer as a whole."
Waxahachie will host the 2027 conference, El Paso the 39th and Beaumont the 40th.