Letter to the editor

Campus tip leads to arrest Dear Editor,

On behalf of the Grimes County Crime Stoppers, Inc., I would like to thank Matthew Ybarra for bringing attention to the P3 tip line in his June 1 article, “Schools Focus on Safety.” As president, I would like to add some information about the indispensable resource known as P3 Campus.

P3 Campus is an anonymous tip reporting system developed specifically for K-12 schools to provide a way for students to report weapons or drugs, bullying, dating violence, smoking or vaping or other inappropriate activity on school campuses. In addition, the technology meets all the requirements of David’s Law which was created by Senate Bill 179 and went into effect Sept. 1, 2019. The law was named after David Molak of San Antonio who committed suicide at the age of 16 due to cyberbullying.

Encouraged by Governor Gregg Abbott’s Safe School Initiative, in 2019 Grimes County Crime Stoppers board of directors approved the purchase and funding of the P3 Campus software for every school district in Grimes County. It went “live” in early 2020 – just in time for Covid!

While we weren’t able to realize its full potential until 2021, P3 Campus has proven its worth as evidenced in the recent arrest and subsequent conviction of Hector Garcia. Based on information provided through the P3 Campus app, Garcia will serve 18 years for multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child.

When our directors see justice served, as in the Garcia case, it reconfirms for us that every dime spent maintaining P3 Campus in Anderson-Shiro, Iola, Navasota and Richards school districts is money well spent. Our children are our future. The ability for them to report inappropriate activity or dangerous situations is a Grimes County Crime Stoppers priority.

Connie Clements, Navasota President | Grimes County Crime Stoppers, Inc.