Suspicious neighbors will be more incentivized to report stash houses and receive $5,000 for positive leads as a result of a new state initiative announced Wednesday.
The Public Safety Office and Texas Department of Public Safety increased the reward for tips called into their Texas Stash House Program, the governor’s office said in a news release.
“I applaud the governor for doing that. Anything that helps minimize the number of stash houses is a good thing,” Pharr Police Chief Andy Harvey said of the increased reward.
Hidalgo County Sheriff J.E. “Eddie” Guerra also believes that the initiative will help their law enforcement efforts.
“I think increasing [the reward] would entice more of the public to pick up the phone and make that anonymous tip,” Guerra said. “The governor’s initiative is like our Crime Stoppers, but our Crime Stoppers pay out $1,000.”
Most of the stash houses found in the Valley are suspected of human smuggling over narcotics smuggling, the sheriff and police chief said.
The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office responds to assist Border Patrol in stash house operations, as they did Thursday morning. But lately, those calls have dropped as the number of people crossing illegally into the country decreased in the area.
Harvey suspects there are more stash houses they have not heard about, but many are called in by victims being held in poor conditions for days.
“Smugglers just drop them off. They have noodles and water at most. They pick them up whenever, if they do,” Harvey said.
People held at the stash houses are often susceptible to other kinds of abuse.
“I remember one time when there was a mother and teenage daughter. They don’t know each other. They’re all strangers. I couldn’t imagine being a mother with a teenage daughter around 30, 40 men and no one to call for help. That’s a scary thing,” Harvey admitted.
Stash houses are often abandoned homes or trailers. Some of the red flags to consider are multiple people dropped off at these abandoned homes where utilities may be disconnected.
While there may be a decrease in this kind of criminal activity, it’s subject to the changes in migration patterns.
“I believe come fall when the weather turns a little bit cooler, I suspect it’ll go back to normal where we’re going to see more and more calls to assist Border Patrol and more calls to our Crime Stoppers,” Sheriff Guerra said.
To be eligible for the cash rewards, anyone with information on stash houses can provide anonymous tips in one of the following ways:
Call the Crime Stoppers hotline: 1-800-252-TIPS (8477); submit an online tip at https://www.p3tips.com/650; or by submitting a Facebook tip to DPS’s Criminal Investigations Division by clicking the “Submit a Tip” link under the “About” section
Reporting to either the state or local law enforcement agencies can be made anonymously, but the tips may be handled differently. Harvey believes many of those calls placed to the state can be routed to local municipalities.
While tipsters may be receiving an award, the tips can help make a community safer. “It’s more about the humanity part for me,” Harvey said, adding, “but we certainly want to know about it to help people who may be in need.”
