>> Welcome back to Houston
newsmakers. As we’ve been
focusing on bail reform and
other issues this morning rania
mankarious, the CEO of crime
stoppers of Houston joins
me in. We have a lot to talk
about. You saw the
investigators report on bail
reform here highlighting the problems that have been around
problems that have been around
for quite some time. Is it bad
as it sounds here on
the ground interacting with
the forces that are dealing
with it is as bad as it sounds.
And it might even
be worsened. >> You know, I just we started
>> You know, I just we started
talking about this in October
of 2019 before covid and and
said, look, the direction we’re
going is going to create chaos in our city and crime is going
in our city and crime is going
to go up it’s you cannot create
a system that routinely
releases the most violent
defendants back into the community. It just doesn’t
community. It just doesn’t
work. And we sounded the alarm
and then covid hit and crime
start going up and everybody
said, oh, its covid, its covid,
its covid. It’s it’s not covid.
It’s tough. It’s tied to this practice now within that can
practice now within that can
grow. We’ve also said you have
to have speedy and fair trials.
You have to have just
punishment. You have to
rehabilitation. You also have
to be in communities kindergarten on
in communities kindergarten on
up, making sure that people
have every opportunity to
choose a different light
proactive ahead of time.
Yes, but at the end of the road
when you’re dealing again, we’re talking about the most
we’re talking about the most
violent repeat.
Defendants. We’ve got to put
that the victim.
We’ve got to do risk
assessments. And we’ve got to put the best interest of the
put the best interest of the
community slightly ahead in the
and Roberts piece. We’re
talking about the way that the
judges and the prosecution kind
of weigh
in on.
>> It looked like there was
like a prosecutor said, well, the judges have, you know, and
the judges have, you know, and
the judges. Well, we don’t have
so this. How do you how does
the system work to all of that when there’s no set rule about
when there’s no set rule about
what happens. Well, it’s
interesting. It seems like for
the first time ever, the Texas
Constitution is being used
against the citizenry. So the
Texas Constitution, of course,
as everybody is right, has a right to a bail. They do.
right to a bail. They do.
And it can’t be burdensome.
We
know that in capital murder
cases, the judge has full
discretion to hold a person on
no bond. Now all of a sudden all of that is gray now the
all of that is gray now the
sun. It’s it’s become from the
vantage point of the judges.
Everybody should be released.
That’s what the Texas
Constitution says from the
vantage point of previous
judges in previous members of community. It was what we are
community. It was what we are
always a risk assessment and
make sure that,
you know, you help somebody set
at a level where they have skin
in the game and they would come
back. Now the prosecutors are saying, look, first of all,
saying, look, first of all,
they don’t have enough
prosecutors, right. We have
50,000 cases going through the
system right now. They’re
drinking from a firehose second
of all, 10% of the cases they have not contested but 90%.
have not contested but 90%.
They have.
>> They’ve also filed over
12,000 motions to revoke bond
over the last 2 years. So
there’s a lot of finger pointing. But at the end of the
pointing. But at the end of the
day, if you look at the system
as a whole. We’ve got to make
sure that every moving part is
focused on the victim. The best
interest of the community and of course treating the
of course treating the
defendant in the fairest way
crime stoppers is involved.
That’s an understatement used
to be just, hey, help us
get criminals. >> How comfortable are you and
>> How comfortable are you and
the organization with the more
visible role you’re taking now
in advocacy on the size
because politically you can if
you take one position, you got shots coming from both sides.
shots coming from both sides.
And we have the shots coming
now, which we assumed, we
would. And it’s a little
concerning because of where
they’re coming from.
But and 2019, we made a decision. The board had a very
decision. The board had a very
hard time. They really thought
through. They said at the end
of the day, while this is
policy driven and tied to
politics.
>> At the end result is
creating a public safety risk for our community and that’s
for our community and that’s
where we have to step in for
41 years. We’ve been showing
up. We’ve been standing up UV.
They’re known it or maybe
haven’t. But we’ve been there very consistent. This new
very consistent. This new
position requires us to be at
the forefront and it’s awkward.
It’s uncomfortable. We also
have a 41 year history of of
having wonderful relationships with every elected official
with every elected official
people say how do you talk to
this one. It’s over. How you
start to this one is done or
what we don’t we don’t care
about that at all. We worked together. Public safety has
together. Public safety has
never been, you know, a
political issue with the with
the one area where we’ve all
come together now that’s
changed. But it doesn’t mean
we’re going to back down.
And by the way, the citizens are the very first people who
are the very first people who
have the right to challenge or
sitting elected officials and
if were punished by elected
officials for challenging them.
That to me is not a red flag.
It’s the most frightening red
flag a community can find
itself in the community is
getting a lot more information
about this now at least that
that’s rising to a level where
there’s more information coming out. When you talk about how
out. When you talk about how
many defendants who’ve been
released on bond and of
committing crimes when they’re
out. Yeah, that’s something
that you have as a.
>> Routine removal crime stoppers really pointed out.
stoppers really pointed out.
Okay. Here’s another person who
might have been injured or
killed by somebody who was out on bail 153 people. We’ve just
on bail 153 people. We’ve just
added the last person 118 since
2020 alone when you have
community members calling us
and saying we we were literally
followed home. We were held at
gunpoint in our garage or
children were tied up.
tied up.
>> A family member was shot in
the face just driving home from
a restaurant evening. What’s
going on? We’re going to say
what’s going on. And again for
us, there’s no political
agenda. We’re not trying to keep a You know, anywhere.
to keep a You know, anywhere.
So we just want to say the
truth. We want people to
understand we’re now having
community meetings were going
to people’s homes were doing them once to twice a week.
them once to twice a week.
We did a 180 people at a at
a church in
last Monday. People want to
know. And it’s also important
to clarify when people say, you
know, the mayor’s got to stop
releasing let allowing these judges to
judges to
release people.
>> Wait a minute, there’s
nothing to do with this.
You know, or the da has to stop
releasing people on
bond book. That’s that’s not
the D’s role. So there’s been a lot of civics and and what
lot of civics and and what
we’re doing now.
>> That I’m
can be challenging along the to
do all of that and be confident about what you do and how you
about what you do and how you
say it as you are now
preparing. I
understand, too launch a new
research center which I think
is going to be interesting because you talk about it’s
because you talk about it’s
going to be factual. And during
that process. How do you keep
that from being
politicized. Well.
>> We have never said who’s
right, who’s wrong and what you need to vote for him. By
need to vote for him. By
the way, right now. A lot of
these issues stem from the
county, but the county deals
with so much beyond just public
safety. They deal with many
other issues beyond public
safety. We’re talking about one singular issue and and we have
singular issue and and we have
a right to raise a flag concern
about that one issue. But the
research center is going to
really look at crime data and
have it the easy for the community to pull. We as an
community to pull. We as an
organization find ourselves
going to HBO, then let’s go to
the sheriffs of what is the
So we want to one-stop hub.
We also want to look at the health of the criminal justice
health of the criminal justice
system from
arrest on who’s doing what and
it? What percentage are they
really working and what are the
results of their work product.
The community has a right to know We’ve had some people say,
know We’ve had some people say,
you know, you really can’t talk
about these things. But
but why it’s public record and
people have a right to know. So you and nonprofit. How are
So you and nonprofit. How are
most making. Where’s the money
come from primarily to keep you
100%. We have of 2 events a
year, 50% of our funding comes
from those 2 events. We had the most historic event we’ve ever
most historic event we’ve ever
had this last year. Thanks to
our me. Jenny mcintyre and
Sharon Williams and their their
precious husbands and part of
that is because the community is just so frustrated and they
is just so frustrated and they
realize that we’ve been talking
about this for 2 years. They
realize that we’re also
offering solutions. We’re not
trying to hurt anybody. Want to come to the table with everyone
come to the table with everyone
and create a better Houston.
Listen, this is not the best
city in the world. I mean, it’s
where we live, where we raise
our children where we have our
homes or plan to retire where
investments are.
We have to look at this issue and we we need to do it
and we we need to do it