This neighborhood resident takes crime fighting seriously
NTCC Monthly Meeting
Friday, Feb. 17, registration at 7 a.m.
Breakfast: 7:30 a.m.; Presentation: 8 a.m.
Renaissance Hotel, 2222 Stemmons Freeway
Speaker: Howard A. Schmidt. A lifelong security officer and strategist, his career has included stints with eBay, Microsoft, the White House, FBI and the Department of Homeland Security
Cost: TBA, reservations required — call 214-965-9000
For information, visit ntcrimecomm.org
Thanks to Jean Maier Dean and her band of crime fighters, around 1,000 offenses were cleared off the police books in 2004 that might have otherwise gone unsolved.
Just who is Dean? Well, she looks about like any other neighborhood resident. She’s lived on Swiss Avenue for two years with her husband and their three “beautiful” chocolate labs.
But while she might have a soft spot for her dogs, she’s dead tough on crime. Dean is the new chairperson of the North Texas Crime Commission (formerly the Greater Dallas Crime Commission).
She’s been a member of group since the late 1980s, chairing the Crime Stoppers Committee for a number of those years.
But it wasn’t until this year that Dean decided to take more of a leadership role. There’s no personal story behind that decision. Like many of us, Dean has been the victim of the occasional petty crime — “I’ve had my car stolen and house broken into a time or two,” she says.
It’s just that she feels strongly about being personally involved and supporting our law enforcement agencies.
“Fighting crime is everyone’s business because it affects everyone — if not directly, then indirectly,” Dean says. “Law enforcement cannot fight crime without the public — they rely on the citizens to help with information, tips and witnesses to incidents.”
Which is where the NTCC comes in. The 55-year-old organization works with a number of local law enforcement agencies, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI, IRS, the U.S. and district attorney’s offices and many more.
The NTCC helps law enforcement by funding special programs and training as well as “giving law enforcement an opportunity to network among themselves,” Dean says.
One of the group’s most successful programs is Crime Stoppers. It’s through that committee — which has groups in more than 150 local schools as well as for the general public — that so many unsolved crimes have been prosecuted.
“The Adult and Campus [Crime Stoppers] programs combined paid out over $210,000 in rewards to anonymous tipsters in 2004,” Dean says. “Crime Stoppers is definitely one of our best assets.”
Other NTCC committees include: Auto Theft, Legislative Issues, Kids and Cops, and Anti-Fraud. The latter is gearing up for NTCC’s annual Scam Jam event April 1, which educates the public about identity theft as well as other types of fraud.
In addition to getting the word out about Scam Jam, Dean plans to focus on membership recruitment of individuals, law enforcement and corporations. The NTCC currently has about 200 members total.
“We’re a very well-kept secret,” Dean says. “I’d like to get the community more involved, to make them aware of the North Texas Crime Commission and how important an organization it is and how much it can help the community.”
Membership dues vary, but individuals can join at the $125 level and be as involved as they want to be. Corporate memberships are also available.
The money, Dean says, is of course a crucial part of NTCC’s mission. But so, she stresses, is the show of support.
“We just need to support our police and law enforcement agencies the best that we can. And as a concerned citizen, I want to be involved and do what I can do,” she says.
For information about NTCC membership or events, visit ntcrimecomm.org
