AUSTIN

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has declared January as Crime Stoppers Month in Texas.  Crime Stoppers programs enable citizens to anonymously report on crimes for cash rewards, helping put criminals behind bars and assisting in crime reduction efforts.  This concept has proven successful with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Texas 10 Most Wanted program, which uses cash incentives supplied through the Governor’s Criminal Justice Division to Texas Crime Stoppers to generate tips and arrests. According to the governor’s proclamation, anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers programs in the state have led to 175,000 arrests and $1.2 billion in property recovered and narcotics seized since 1976.  Last year, 30 DPS Most Wanted fugitives and sex offenders were arrested, and a record $93,000 in cash rewards were paid in cases where tips led to arrests. On Monday, the first Most Wanted arrest of 2013 took place in Bandera when a violent sex offender was apprehended after a tip was called in.  The tipster will receive a $5,000 cash reward.  For more information on the Texas 10 Most Wanted program, including featured fugitives and archives of captured fugitives, visit: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/texas10mostwanted/. The following link, http://www.dps.texas.gov/Texas10MostWanted/video/tipsterVideo.htm, explains the steps on how to submit a tip regarding a Texas 10 Most Wanted Fugitive or Sex Offender and/or how to receive a reward once the fugitive is captured. Anyone with information can provide anonymous tips in four different ways: •Call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477). • Text the letters DPS—followed by your tip—to 274637 (CRIMES) from your cell phone. • Submit a web tip through the DPS website by selecting the fugitive you have information about, and then clicking on the link under their picture. • Submit a Facebook tip at http://www.facebook.com/texas10mostwanted by clicking the “SUBMIT A TIP” link (under the “About” section).