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Washington County Crime Stoppers pitches anonymous campus tipline and incentives to Brenham ISD board
Summary
Local Crime Stoppers representatives proposed bringing a campus tipline into Brenham ISD, paid from Crime Stoppers funds, to allow anonymous reporting (QR code/text) and small incentive payouts for tips tied to vapes, drugs, weapons and safety threats; trustees reacted positively and asked staff to coordinate implementation details.
Representatives from Washington County Crime Stoppers described a plan to expand a county anonymous tipline into Brenham ISD campuses with a campus operational model that keeps tipsters anonymous and allows small, immediate incentive payouts.
Carrie Council, president of Washington County Crime Stoppers, and Joe Merkley, the county safety and security coordinator, told trustees the campus program focuses on early intervention and safety threats including suicide risk, illicit drugs and weapons. They proposed using QR codes to make anonymous reporting accessible to students and suggested payout tiers (examples given: roughly $40 for vape tips, $100–$250 for illegal drugs) that Crime Stoppers would fund and administer through a county‑level process.
The program would route tips to a county call system and then to the appropriate agency or school resource officer; Brenham ISD staff would determine whether a tip required school discipline or further law‑enforcement follow up. Trustees expressed support and asked for implementation details, data from other campuses, and confirmation of funding sources (Crime Stoppers fund, grants, and restitution payouts were cited as potential sources).
