January 11, 2024 • 32 mins
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Stepping into the shadows of a world that many of us hope to never encounter, Angela Bernard and Cindy Lopez with Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County join me to uncover the grim realities of human trafficking in our backyards. These brave voices from Place of Hope and Crime Stoppers shine a light on the darkness, revealing how their partnership and an anonymous tip line are not just tools, but lifelines in the community's fight against this pervasive crime. We discuss the surge in trafficking tips, the interplay of fraud and narcotics, and the power of events like the Light in the Shadows Luncheon in rallying awareness and support.
This episode is more than just a discussion; it's a tribute to resilience. Prepare to be moved by the personal battles of human trafficking survivors, whose stories are both heartbreaking and hopeful. From the labor trafficking of three siblings to Doug's and Tabitha's agonizing paths through exploitation, these narratives are testament to the importance of every tip reported. We discuss the increased rewards for tips leading to arrests, and how each piece of information weaves together a larger picture that aids law enforcement in their pursuit for justice.
Our journey concludes by exploring the essence of Crime Stoppers' mission and its synergies with Palm Beach's public safety initiatives. We delve into the critical importance of anonymity in crime reporting, underscoring how it empowers individuals to speak up and potentially save lives. As we set our sights on 2024, aiming for heightened community interaction and education, I invite you to become an Ambassador of Hope and join the conversation on social media to ensure the safety and bright future of every child.
Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County links:
More information on Cruisin' for Crime Stoppers ride on Jan. 27, 2024
Report a crime Online
You can help. Anonymously. Call: 800-458-TIPS (8477) or **TIPS
Host: Charles L. Bender III, Founding CEO and Board Member of Place of Hope
Title Sponsor: Crypto Capital Venture | Follow Dan Gambardello's on Twitter (@cryptorecruitr)
Link: Visit the Place of Hope Website, PlaceOfHope.com
Connect with Place of Hope on social media: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | LinkedIn
Email the Show: POHPodcast@PlaceOfHope.com
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Producer: Maya Elias
Copyright of Place of Hope 2023.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Charles Bender (00:01):
Hello and thank you for tuning in to Ambassadors
of Hope.
I'm your host, charles Bender.
We're so excited that you'vetuned in to hear from local
South Florida leaders who aremaking a difference in our
community and region through ourcharity Place of Hope.
Maya Elias (00:19):
Hello and welcome to Ambassadors of Hope, a podcast
by Place of Hope.
I'm your producer, maya Elias.
In this episode we have thehonor of having Angela Bernard
and Cindy Lopez with CrimeStoppers of Palm Beach County.
Crime Stoppers of Palm BeachCounty is partnering with Place
of Hope to combat humantrafficking.
The partnership aims to utilizeCrime Stoppers' anonymous tip
line to gather information onhuman trafficking cases and
(00:42):
provide rewards for tips thatlead to arrests.
Since the launch of thepartnership, there has been a
significant increase in humantrafficking tips received.
Crime Stoppers works closelywith law enforcement agencies
and the community to raiseawareness and provide a safe
outlet for affording crimes.
The organization is focused onevolving its technology and
expanding its social mediapresence to reach a wider
(01:04):
audience.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (01:06):
All right, well, ladies, welcome.
My name is Jamie Bond Ciancio,I'm the director of advancement
development here at Place ofHope, and joining me here today
is Angela, the executivedirector of Crime Stoppers, and
we have Cindy, who is our lawenforcement coordinator for
Crime Stoppers.
You want to tell us a littlebit about your roles and then
we'll jump into how we gotconnected in our partnership
(01:28):
with Crime Stoppers.
Angela Barnard (01:29):
Sounds good.
Thanks, Jamie.
I am the executive director forCrime Stoppers of Palm Beach
County.
We are one of 23 differentCrime Stoppers throughout the
state and my role is to prettymuch keep the business of Crime
Stoppers going and coordinatewith our law enforcement
coordinator, Cindy.
Cindy Lopez (01:47):
Hi, and I'm Cindy, so I'm the law enforcement
coordinator and the tipcoordinator, so I handle all the
tips that come in through our800 line, our website and our
mobile app, and then I alsocoordinate with all the agencies
as far as, like, there's anyparticular cases that they want
publicized through us, offerrewards, and then I send them to
their different departmentsbased on what kind of tip we get
(02:09):
Fantastic.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (02:10):
How many agencies are you guys working
with?
32.
32.
And that's across the county,just Palm Beach.
Cindy Lopez (02:15):
County, just Palm Beach County.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (02:17):
That's crazy .
Well, let's talk a little bitabout just what is this
partnership.
It's a new partnership.
It's a very excitingpartnership, how it kind of came
about and what it looks likefrom a 30,000 foot view.
Angela Barnard (02:29):
We had some supporters in common between our
two organizations, that kind ofthought there might be some
collaboration opportunities.
So we started talking oh, it'sbeen months now, probably about
six months in process on what wedo and what we do well from the
Crime Stopper standpoint withtips and anonymous tipsters, and
(02:51):
the protections we have and howthat could help improve with
human trafficking and tips thatmight come in for that.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (03:00):
And this is the first relationship that
you've really had that focusesspecifically on human
trafficking, right?
Yes, because what are some ofthe other crimes that people
would give tips on?
Cindy Lopez (03:09):
I mean we get tips on a bunch of different things.
homicides are our biggest one.
Fraud lately has been a reallybig one with the scams that
happen electronically.
All that especially withholidays that just happened.
We also get a lot of narcoticstips.
That's probably our secondlargest one is all the narcotics
tips and fugitives.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (03:27):
And I think what's really cool about Place
of Hope and what we do is we'revery entrepreneurial and our CEO
, Charles, is veryentrepreneurial, and we have
donors and supporters and boardmembers who are also in that
like mind and, like you said, wehave some mutual supporters and
we're really fighting the samefight in a lot of ways, but from
different aspects.
So I know we had one gentlemana one ,gentleman set forward
(03:49):
forward, and just said whatwould that look like?
How can we utilize these greatresources in the community and
how can we get behind it and howcan I steward my resources to
help put an end to this fightfrom a different perspective?
Right, Place of Hope is caringfor survivors of trafficking and
we're focusing on theintervention and prevention of
those that are in care.
But then how do we get thecommunity involved?
(04:11):
How do we get that informationout there?
And you guys have some greatsuccess stories.
I know you'll talk a little bitabout just some of the markers
that you've seen so far, but Ithink we're just we're very,
very excited about it.
We announced it.
You were at the Light in theShadows Luncheon.
What were your thoughts on theluncheon?
It was overwhelming.
Angela Barnard (04:26):
I mean the videos that you showed it was
you know really, really reacheddown to your heart.
They were great stories and itwas amazing to see all the
supporters there.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (04:35):
You guys are a part of that.
It's kind of cool 700,primarily women, right, but all
very excited and it's a heavytopic.
But I think we did a prettygood job of leaving people
inspired.
And you mentioned that just inthis short period of time since
we've really officially launchedand that was one of our
official launch dates you'vegotten a lot of tips so far,
right.
Cindy Lopez (04:53):
Oh, absolutely yeah .
In all of 2022 to 2023, we gotmaybe a total of like six or
seven tips of human trafficking,and then, just from
Thanksgiving to now, we'vegotten 14.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (05:06):
So double, double in one month, yeah, in
one month.
So that's absolutely incredible, so we're excited for that.
So, cindy or Angela, can youshare some insights into the
current state of maybe whatyou're seeing from your end for
Palm Beach County and, as awhole, maybe some specific
challenges faced by some peoplethat you might be interfacing
with?
Cindy Lopez (05:25):
Yeah, so I have been in law enforcement
previously for seven, six years.
I was in dispatch for six years.
So through that in Palm BeachCounty I saw how much human
trafficking is all around us.
We would get calls all the timeabout just certain people
looking suspicious or certainsituations that they encountered
(05:47):
, and it makes you reallyrealize that we're not immune to
it.
And then also, with ourBelgrade area out there, human
trafficking has is in so manydifferent forms that we even get
stories out there.
And as a minority I have seenit too with people that I know
firsthand when they explaincertain situations and you're
just like you know that's notright.
(06:08):
Florida, being surrounded byinternational waters, is just
such hot commodity state forthat.
And then Palm Beach Countyalone I've seen that we get a
lot of landings.
We have a lot of people whocome here with like a pretense
of something like with beachesfilled with street work, like
walkers and stuff that you haveno idea of.
(06:28):
They're doing this by force,right.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (06:31):
Right, yeah, that's one of the.
The focus is that we have aplace of hope, of spending a lot
of time trying to educatecommunity on what is human
trafficking, what does that looklike?
And and even leading up to andgrooming and kind of what that
looks like.
A lot of people will say and Ithink you saw, heard me say it
in the video at light, in theshadows, is a lot of people
think it's stranger danger andit's this white van pulling up.
(06:51):
But there's so much more right.
There's domestic servitude.
Maya and I were talking aboutthat this morning.
Just she was just in DominicanRepublic and just saw just what
we're so privileged here andwhat our world looks like is so
different in a different country.
But the domestic servitudewe're seeing it a variety of
ways and what street basedprostitution looks like in
Riviera Beach versus maybeBoglade versus Viral Beach, and
(07:14):
really trying to help thecommunity understand what that
looks like.
And then focusing on thegrooming and kids that are in
middle schools and high schoolsand what they're being affected
and how they're being impactedby sex distortion and there's
just so many ways.
The gangs in Boglade, a lot ofthe gangs and one of the young
ladies that came through ourcare.
She's been with us for years,mary.
(07:35):
She's a fantastic young ladyand you know we just thank God
that she ended up coming toplace of hope.
But she said that she's fromBoglade.
There really was, you playedfootball or you survived, and if
you're a lady you don't playfootball.
So what options are there?
So you know there's just a lotof opportunities.
So helping people understandwhat that looks like and not
necessarily just passingjudgment on oh, I see this lady
walking the street, you know forcrack or whatever, but really
(07:57):
helping focus on what are thesigns of that?
Is there's something wrong?
Is, you know, for a teacherthat's seeing a child, a student
coming into class, always beinglate or coming with some sort
of you know, bruises or marks orcuts or just different things,
trying to help awaken, right ourcommunity so they, they can
react appropriately, they canmake those types of phone calls.
So if somebody does want toreport a tip, what does that
(08:19):
look like?
How would they do that?
Cindy Lopez (08:20):
so what they?
They have three options toreport tips to crime stoppers.
You can call our 800 line,which goes to a call center
that's 24 7, or you can goonline on our website.
There's a form that you fillout all the information.
We also have an app called p3tips.
Then the more simplified number, which is one that john walsh
is working with this on, is likethe star star tips.
That is statewide so, and Iactually think it's national now
(08:43):
right right.
Angela Barnard (08:44):
So so it started in the state of Florida.
Attorney General Ashley moodykind of coordinated that and now
they've been promoting it.
So florida was first and, yes,it's going national yep, so star
, star tips anywhere you areanywhere.
Cindy Lopez (08:58):
Basically, it'll get your tip to the correct
crime stoppers for the area thatyou want to report it.
The app is also pretty easybecause it just goes based off
state, then county, and thenfrom there it'll go to the
correct one once you select thecounty that you're in.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (09:10):
So I want to get into in a minute what the
actual partnership is and whatthat match looks like, because
people need to know about that,of course, but we're talking
about the tipsters right now.
So how are we protecting thosekeeping their information
anonymous?
You know, if they're going onan app, what are you doing about
that and what does that looklike?
Cindy Lopez (09:27):
So the call center that we use is in Canada, so we
the calls don't ever comedirectly to me, unless the tips
or requests to speak directly tome.
I do not have caller ID on myphone.
The phone numbers don't comethrough our call center and
myself.
We never ask for name, noemails, no phone numbers,
nothing that identifies yourself.
When tips come in through theweb or the mobile app, I get
(09:48):
them all and I inspect them andI can edit them to edit out any
identifying information beforeit goes to law enforcement, so
nobody will ever know who youare.
If you did somehow identifyyourself, I remove it and that's
just something you know, basedon crime stoppers that I will
never reveal either.
Angela Barnard (10:04):
Right, absolutely.
In addition to that.
So there's multiple layers froma technology standpoint that
protects tipsters, but in thestate of Florida there's also a
law to protect tipsters and thetips that we receive, so that we
can't be compelled to provideany information, even if we, you
know, had something that mightlead someone to figure out.
(10:26):
Someone was awesome.
Maya Elias (10:29):
Hello and welcome to the segment entitled seat of
hope.
Today we would like to sharewith you all three stories of
either current or formerresidents of place of hope who
are human trafficking survivors.
Our first story at 12 and 16years old, three siblings were
brought from their home countrywith their parents to the US for
a better life.
Upon arrival, the traffickersstripped them of their visas
that the traffickers affordedfor them.
(10:50):
Not knowing the language, notknowing where they were and not
knowing the culture, the familywas terrified that they would be
deported or that their childrenwould be murdered.
They were forced into labortrafficking.
They spent 18 hours a dayworking only to not keep most of
their money.
Threatened by force and fraud,the children and family were
indebted to their traffickers.
Story number two Doug had beenphysically and sexually abused
(11:12):
as a child.
As a result, he was broughtinto the foster care system.
Such trauma led Doug into adark place.
He ran away from foster careand found himself on the streets
.
After days without food or dryand warm place to sleep, doug
met a man who offered them thosethings filling his needs.
Over time, the man builtrapport with Doug and he felt
safer with him than alone andstarving, until the day came
(11:34):
when Doug was faced withrepaying the man through
commercial sex, embarrassed,feeling trapped and not knowing
where else to go or how hecomplied.
For most of her childhood,tabitha's mom was incarcerated.
She grew up not knowing her momand not knowing what it felt
like to have a mom.
At 12 years old, tabitha's momwas released from jail and for
the first time she was able tolovingly embrace the woman she
(11:55):
yearned for her whole life.
Her mom told her that she wassick and that Tabitha could help
her get better.
She explained her sickness wasa drug addiction and the only
way to help her get better wasto continue using.
And the only way that she couldafford her habit was if Tabitha
slept with men for money andgave her mom the money.
Her mom reminded Tabitha thatshe loved her and she was so
proud of her and, more thananything, needed her help.
(12:17):
And more than anything, tabithawanted to be loved and seen by
her mom.
So she complied.
Tabitha was trafficked by hermom at 12 years old.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (12:26):
Well, and let's talk about what the tips
is.
So what is this reward?
Do you want to tell us aboutthis incentive?
Tell us about what you guys aredoing already and then what
this incentive looks like andwhat that really amounts to.
Angela Barnard (12:36):
Sure, so the board of directors for crime
stoppers.
They are volunteers, they mustlive in the county and they get
together once a month toevaluate the tips that have
resulted in arrests.
So we look at those.
There is a point systemdepending on the type of crime
Did we recover stolen propertyor narcotics, things like that
(12:58):
that determines how much the tipis valued at.
We range anywhere from $100,000to $3,000, depending on that,
and we were lucky enough tocollaborate with you and you're
able to come in and match up to$2,000 for our tips that leads
to human trafficking arrests.
(13:18):
So you're looking atpotentially up to $5,000 for
human trafficking tips.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (13:23):
That's fantastic, that's amazing.
We hope that that is anincentive enough.
I mean, it's hard to say ifthat really is, but to have such
numbers, I believe it is.
Cindy Lopez (13:32):
I mean, we offer an option sometimes to agencies
and families to add additionalrewards for their family members
case and I have noticed thatwhen, for example, a homicide
reward is up from $3,000 to$6,000, we do tend to get more
response like more tips.
Come in for it.
Yes, sometimes some of themdon't need anywhere, but the
(13:53):
more information that gets outthere, the more that it can help
agencies get somewhere.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (13:59):
Absolutely.
And people have asked unrelatedto crime stoppers, but related
in the conversation.
People have asked before ifthey're calling the Pleyris
Project or the National HumanTrafficking Hotline and I'm not
really sure if I'm seeingsomething.
Really, should I make thatphone call?
And I always encourage them to,because you don't always
realize there could be otherpieces that are out there and
you could just be that missinglink, that missing puzzle piece
(14:21):
that really helps bring it alltogether.
What would you say to that?
Cindy Lopez (14:25):
I have some tips that I, every time I get a tip,
I search it through the databaseto see if anything else has
come in in that area that'ssimilar, similar descriptions,
similar situations, and if itdoes, I make sure to compile
that like could be relatedbecause, you're right, it could
all as one form, somethingAbsolutely.
(14:45):
Did you have anything youwanted to add to?
Jamie Bond Ciancio (14:46):
that?
Angela Barnard (14:47):
No, that's pretty much what Cindy said,
plus it may be something wherewe get something now that
doesn't lead to an arrest thismonth, but then someone else
notices something else and theyreport it and it builds on that
because, like Cindy said, shekeeps track.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (15:01):
Yeah absolutely so.
Let's take it back in a.
So it's the new year.
We just wrapped up 2023.
We're kicking off 2024.
It's National Human TraffickingAwareness Month, so we're
excited to have you here.
But you guys so we've beenaround since 2001,.
But you guys, Crime Stoppers,have been around since 1981.
Is that correct?
Yes, so tell us a little bitabout just how you evolved.
You know what?
(15:21):
Maybe some future plans orstrategies.
Do you have to really continueto impact Palm Beach County?
And then, what does it looklike for South Florida as a?
Angela Barnard (15:29):
whole.
So evolution, wise from atechnology aspect, is always
funny.
When I joined and learned thatthey took these tips, there was
a single phone that was theCrime Stoppers phone, you know,
and they're taking the tips Likethe Batphone.
Cindy Lopez (15:42):
Yeah, exactly, I think the last time was.
2015 was the last time westopped using that notebook.
It is a literal notebook wherethey were writing each tip down
the ID, the information, thecase number for the agency.
Like it's crazy, that's awesome, so it's nice.
Angela Barnard (16:00):
You know, technology is kept up.
Now we've got the app, we'vegot the star star tips, so
people have multitude of ways toreach us and we also have a lot
more collaboration between thedifferent Crime Stoppers
organizations throughout thecountry because of that.
So I'm excited.
It's my first year as executivedirector and having these
(16:21):
community outreaches becausewe've got Place of Hope.
We've also reached out withinner city innovators, so we've
got some other outreaches.
We do the tip portion of thingsreally well.
We're very proud of that.
But it's nice for our boardmembers and our volunteers to
see that the next step issomething like Place of Hope
(16:43):
being able to help after thattip and that arrest is made,
what happens.
So it's finishing the story forus, which is nice.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (16:52):
That's awesome, that's awesome, and you
have an event coming up January27th.
Angela Barnard (16:58):
So this is our biggest event that we have
hosted now.
This is our 13th year.
It's called Cruisin' for CrimeStoppers and it is a community
awareness event as well as afundraiser for us, and we invite
the entire community to comeout Village of Wellington
Amphitheater that morning.
We're going to have about 500motorcycles that will ride 100
(17:22):
miles through the county andbasically spread the word of
Crime Stoppers and we will havefood and music and all that kind
of good stuff afterwards.
If you don't know what CrimeStoppers is, come out and learn
more about us.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (17:36):
So you don't have to ride a motorcycle to
attend.
You do not.
You can still come out andsupport Yep.
Angela Barnard (17:41):
So after the motorcycles come back in around
1 pm, join us for the afterparty live music.
Everything is open to thepublic.
Cindy Lopez (17:49):
Graffles and everything.
Lots of great prizes.
There you go.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (17:51):
And you mentioned it was a fundraiser.
So what does that particularlygo for?
Angela Barnard (17:56):
It goes towards our operations.
It goes somewhat towards ourtips, our rewards that we pay
out.
So some of the tips we getfunds from different sources and
some of the tips, if they don'tlead to an arrest.
Sometimes our board members arelike that person really put
themselves out there.
Or it might be especially instudent Crime Stoppers in the
(18:20):
schools, where it might not leadto an arrest but it might lead
to some services being offeredto a student or a family and in
those cases we feel it'simportant to be able to provide
them with rewards.
So that's where that money goes.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (18:36):
Talk a little bit about student Crime
Stoppers.
We haven't talked about thatyet.
Cindy Lopez (18:38):
Yeah, so I actually was going to touch base on that
.
Perfect, because one of thethings I was going to say
earlier too is you know, palmBeach County has a lot of stay
homes for kids, foster carehomes, so I know that those are
a huge target.
So for these kids that are inhigh school to know that they
have an outlet.
There's so many school programsthat you can report to, but
(18:59):
unfortunately, crime Stoppers isthe only truly anonymous one.
Some of the other ones theystill ask for a phone number.
They still ask for your firstname at least, and your school,
whereas Crime Stoppers won't askyou anything at all.
So for student Crime Stoppers,we offer rewards of up to $1,000
if it happened on campus, butthat doesn't mean you can only
report things that happen oncampus.
You can report things that havehappened outside of campus.
(19:21):
We are forming a really greatrelationship with a lot of the
school resource officers, so alot of them actually have
students who come to them, butthen they tell these students to
go to Crime Stoppers toeliminate their potentially
having to testify beingidentified, because that's
ultimately one of the reasons Ido have a lot of agencies that
(19:41):
are happy to tell people to goto Crime Stoppers.
It's because people want tostay safe and they know that if
they say something and someonefinds out, they may not be safe.
So we offer that safety outlet.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (19:52):
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's really good to know.
I had a group of women that Iwent and spoke.
I did a presentation a coupleof months ago and they said
we've been wanting to havesomebody come talk about human
trafficking for so long butwe're actually fearful that if
we are known as a group ofpeople that are helping spread
awareness about humantrafficking, that it could put
our safety at risk.
And it's kind of heartbreakingand it's heartening to hear that
(20:15):
is the case but that's thetruth.
So that's awesome that you guysoffer that in those schools and
that the SROs are on board, andthat's awesome.
Maya Elias (20:25):
Hello and welcome to this segment entitled Hope and
Action.
For this segment of Hope andAction, we would like to share
some history about HumanTrafficking Awareness Month.
January is observed as NationalHuman Trafficking Prevention
Month in the United States since2010.
The month is dedicated toraising awareness about human
trafficking and educating thepublic on identification and
(20:45):
prevention.
The US Department of Statecollaborates with US embassies
and consulates to promoteawareness globally.
The initiative traces back tothe Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000, or knownas the TVPA, with President
Barack Obama officiallydeclaring January as National
Slavery and Human TraffickingPrevention Month in 2010.
(21:06):
President Biden has continuedthis tradition, emphasizing the
commitment to protectingsurvivors, prosecuting
traffickers and ending humantrafficking.
Presidential proclamationshighlight key policy
achievements, such as theExecutive Order in 2012, the
Formation of the US AdvisoryCouncil on Human Trafficking in
2016, the launch of the programto end modern slavery in 2017,
(21:28):
and the updated National ActionPlan in 2021.
Human trafficking encompassesforced labor and sex trafficking
, and this poses a threat toglobal peace, security and human
dignity.
Over 27.6 million people,including those in the US, are
estimated to be victims of humantrafficking.
The COVID-19 pandemic has notdeterred traffickers who exploit
(21:51):
vulnerabilities caused bynatural disasters and conflicts.
Many countries, following the3-P Paradigyam preventing,
protecting and prosecuting haveimplemented anti-trafficking
laws.
Despite international efforts,however, traffickers still
persist, prompting a call toaction in every presidential
proclamation for individuals toplay a crucial role in combating
(22:13):
human trafficking.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (22:18):
I want to talk in a minute about how you
both got involved and what ledyou into this, but as you were
talking, it made me wonder inwhat ways you talked about
there's 32 agencies you'reworking with.
So what other ways is CrimeStoppers engaging with law
enforcement, engaging with themedia and engaging with the
community in general to get theword out there?
(22:39):
Like you said, you guys do sucha great job, but how are you
getting that word out there andhow can we help get that out
there?
Angela Barnard (22:45):
So you've probably seen a billboard or a
bus stop that we've got ourmaterials at.
So that's just general kind offor people passing by.
We do a lot of communityoutreach.
We're gonna be at Garlic Fest,we're you know, different things
like that.
Community events, we reach out.
We've gone to speak atdifferent schools from
(23:08):
elementary, middle, high schoolcolleges, so trying to get that
information out there.
We are building much more onour social media platforms
because we want to be able toreach a younger audience,
Absolutely.
Cindy Lopez (23:22):
Along with the social media.
You know I've been reallytrying to get our following up
there with like Instagram andFacebook primarily, but we've
talked about possibly doingreels and starting to do like
little clips with detectives andthings like that.
I have started to reach out toa lot of agencies to do kind of
like a Crime Stoppers trainingcourse at their new hires.
(23:42):
So we're doing one this monthactually with Riviera Beach at
their training.
We're doing a presentation.
That way they all know what weoffer, what they can send to us,
cause a lot of them they onlythink they can send high profile
stuff to us but we'll takeanything we do animal abuse and
then we want to let them knowabout the human trafficking,
because we know that there's alot of agencies that have task
(24:03):
force specifically for that.
So if they know that now we'reoffering this incentive, they
know that they could possiblysend victims or previous victims
that have information but arescared to us.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (24:13):
Absolutely.
Oh, that's fantastic.
That's so good to hear.
So let's go back and talk aboutyou.
Know how you got involved, whatbrought you here, cause you've
been here now a year as theexecutive director.
Angela Barnard (24:22):
I was a board member prior to that.
So I am a small business ownerhere in Palm Beach County.
I've been here for over 20years.
Someone brought me in as aboard member and, like I said,
you know it's interesting tohear.
It's, you know, kind ofheartbreaking to hear some of
the stories, but I felt like wewere doing something good.
We wanted to get that word outthere and I think part of what
(24:44):
makes you realize people want todo the right thing.
A lot of the rewards gounclaimed.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (24:51):
When I heard that, it was very interesting
to me that that's the case.
Angela Barnard (24:54):
Yeah, so we.
I think they about 30% of ourrewards get claimed and the rest
of them just go back into ourfunds.
But so as a board member thatwas you know I was hooked, and
then, when the opportunity cameup to become executive director,
I thought, yep, that's, I'mready to do something different.
(25:14):
That's awesome.
So, harold, and you still run abusiness full time I do have
the business, but I'm kind ofphasing out of that.
Cindy Lopez (25:22):
Yeah.
And then what about you, cindy?
So I've been in law enforcementfor quite a bit.
I was a judicial assistant fora felony judge for about three
years and then I starteddispatch, did that for six years
and then family kind of made meswitch tolls on like hours and
stuff.
But since being in CrimeStoppers it's I've always had a
passion for like investigativethings and with Crime Stoppers
(25:43):
it gives me that opportunity todo it.
But then also you get somesense of like you're doing the
right thing because it's likeyou're helping solve these cases
for people with these tipsersand every tipster I've ever
spoken to.
When it comes to the rewardprocess, they have been so
grateful.
A lot of them are so surprisedat how much they're getting.
Some of them are surprisedthey're even getting anything.
(26:04):
So it's just been reallyrewarding.
And now I've got this passionfor it with Crime Stoppers.
It's like I really want tobuild their social media.
I want to do all these things.
Angela Barnard (26:13):
So having some fun with it, she and I, because
we're we've both been in thesepositions only a little over a
year and I'm just under a year.
It's been fun, new energy andwe're kind of building off of
each other on our skills.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (26:28):
That's exciting, that's really cool.
So do either one of you or bothof you have, just in your short
period of time at least andyou've been, you know, for a
while but is there any storythat really stands out to you?
That's like.
This is why we do it, like thisis why I get up every day and
this is what I, you know, reallyfocus on, so anything that just
really just warms your heart.
Cindy Lopez (26:45):
I mean just in Crime Stoppers alone.
You know we got a tip once andI know you'll remember this one
because it was a pretty like ohmy God, we got a tip once where
they were calling to report, youknow, about the safety of a
child.
So you know I was able our callcenter is amazing, they are 24
seven.
This tip came in at like threeo'clock in the morning and they
called me right away so that Icould look at it and as soon as
(27:08):
I did I sent it.
I was like, okay, go ahead andcall the police and have them
dispatch immediately.
So they did.
They were able to recover thechild, they were safe, like the
mother was arrested.
It's just those kind of things.
It's like you do this for areason, because apparently it
was a situation that's arecurring incident that was
happening, and because somebodywas able to feel safe enough to
(27:29):
call us and we responded thatquickly, like a child's life was
possibly saved, so that kind ofstuff.
And then just working in lawenforcement, there's so many
times where it's like whatyou're doing serves a purpose.
It's a thankless job, but it's.
You get the thanks and thesatisfaction that you're doing
something right for thecommunity.
Angela Barnard (27:47):
I think some of what reaches my heart is some of
these people, the victimsespecially.
So we've had this situationwhere I think you received a
call out of out of the westernpart of the county and you know
this mom tried everything shecould to keep a child safe and
in the end got involved and hewas murdered and that's a sad,
(28:12):
horrible situation.
But at least we're able to tryand help her, get some closure,
get some justice.
So try and help that situationwhere we get the tips that can
possibly put the culprit underarrest.
Cindy Lopez (28:26):
And I will say a lot of my homicide families.
They really touch my heartbecause the police, the police,
they do a lot but they can't beupfront with everything they're
doing right away to not impacttheir investigation.
So when they call me and I'mable to put up a poster of their
child that they can drive byevery day, like those little
(28:48):
things it's, you know, they'reso appreciative of it and all of
it a lot of times the firstquestion is how much will that
cost me?
And I'm so happy that I cantell them nothing.
It'll cost you nothing.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (28:59):
That's awesome.
Anything that we haven'tcovered that you want to share,
talk about.
Ask Maybe some 2024 goals Forme, at least for Crime Stoppers.
Cindy Lopez (29:08):
My goals are really to up the amount of.
I mean, we already get so manytips, but I really want to up it
, like the more information wecan get, the better.
I want to really up our socialmedia, you know, keep bringing
awareness to it.
One of the biggest things thatI think I've found out is that a
lot of people know who we areand might know what we are, but
(29:29):
they don't know how we work.
And once they find out how wework and how we truly are
anonymous, from the moment youcall us to the moment you get
your money like they're amazed.
Because that's the biggest oneis how do I get money if I'm
anonymous?
We have a safe, solid processon how you get your reward.
We will never know who you are.
No one will.
Angela Barnard (29:49):
We've had some funny results out Well, what
about this, what about that?
And we're like nope, this ishow we handle that, that's how
we handle that situation, soit's funny how that works out.
The other thing that we'rereally focusing on is we want
people to understand that CrimeStoppers of Palm Beach County is
an independent, not-for-profitorganization.
We are not part of lawenforcement.
So, while a lot of your lawenforcement agencies may have
(30:12):
their own tip lines, we are theanonymous tip line.
So Anonymous, okay.
Cindy Lopez (30:17):
And I think the biggest thing too is a lot of
people think ours is for arrestand conviction, because a lot of
the agencies who have their owntip line do advertise arrest
and conviction.
We are just arrest.
We also, on certain occasions,will pay out for recovery of
property and narcotics,depending on what it is.
I know we have talked aboutwith the human trafficking
collaboration.
If there's recovery of victims,that is something that will be
(30:40):
considered for a reward as well.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (30:41):
Yeah, arrest and recovery in a human
trafficking investigation yeah,that's awesome.
Well, I think it's really coolbecause I mean so to know that
you guys have been around since1981, it makes sense.
So I was born in 1983.
I've grown up hearing aboutCrime Stoppers and it's like
that billboard, like you said.
You know it's there but youdon't really know what it is or
what it was.
So when Charles said, hey, Ithink we're going to do this
(31:04):
thing with Crime Stoppers, I'mlike that's awesome.
But what is the thing?
How's this going to work?
So it's just been a privilege.
It's been awesome to really getto know you ladies and just
your hearts, and we're excitedfor you.
And I know we have someco-branded materials.
We have our Rack Card, sothat's co-branded.
We handed those out all at thelight and the shadows, as well
as your information.
So the student Crime Stoppersas well as this one, all of that
(31:25):
went in.
All of this information isavailable for anybody who wants.
We have it on social.
We're going to be tagging you alot in the month of January as
it's National Human TraffickingAwareness Month.
You know we want to get thatinformation out to people really
what human trafficking lookslike having them understand what
it looks like in its boys andgirls and its all ages, and
there's multiple varieties ofhuman trafficking and victims
(31:47):
and predators that are out there.
So we're very excited to beworking with you.
I think that pretty much wrapsus up, unless you have anything
else you want to add.
Angela Barnard (31:54):
No, we are excited as well because this
collaboration will lead us topotentially others with other
other organizations in thecounty.
That helps us get our word outas well.
Cindy Lopez (32:03):
Yeah, and if you're ever at an event, especially
our Murder Secreide, all thematerials for this collab will
also be at our event, at anyfuture events that we go to,
because we do go to whatprobably like one a month, if
not two a month.
Yeah, yeah, we had the PublicSafety.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (32:17):
Expo.
Right, I bet you guys werethere and we'll be.
At the Cruisin' for CrimeStoppers We'll be there.
I won't be there, but the teamwill be there.
We're excited.
We're happy to be partnering.
Charles Bender (32:26):
Thank you for listening.
Please be sure to subscribe andshare with your friends so you
don't even miss a thing, and ifyou really gained value today,
please be sure to give us afive-star review so, of course,
we can be put in front of morelisteners.
For details and show notesabout today's podcast and how
you can connect with and supportour guests, please go to
placeofhopecom, forward slashpodcast and please don't forget
to email us atpohpodcastatplaceofhopecom.
(32:49):
And, for sure, follow us onsocial media.
Ambassadors of hope placinghope in a child's future.
Hello and thank you for tuning in to Ambassadors
of Hope.
I'm your host, charles Bender.
We're so excited that you'vetuned in to hear from local
South Florida leaders who aremaking a difference in our
community and region through ourcharity Place of Hope.
Maya Elias (00:19):
Hello and welcome to Ambassadors of Hope, a podcast
by Place of Hope.
I'm your producer, maya Elias.
In this episode we have thehonor of having Angela Bernard
and Cindy Lopez with CrimeStoppers of Palm Beach County.
Crime Stoppers of Palm BeachCounty is partnering with Place
of Hope to combat humantrafficking.
The partnership aims to utilizeCrime Stoppers' anonymous tip
line to gather information onhuman trafficking cases and
(00:42):
provide rewards for tips thatlead to arrests.
Since the launch of thepartnership, there has been a
significant increase in humantrafficking tips received.
Crime Stoppers works closelywith law enforcement agencies
and the community to raiseawareness and provide a safe
outlet for affording crimes.
The organization is focused onevolving its technology and
expanding its social mediapresence to reach a wider
(01:04):
audience.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (01:06):
All right, well, ladies, welcome.
My name is Jamie Bond Ciancio,I'm the director of advancement
development here at Place ofHope, and joining me here today
is Angela, the executivedirector of Crime Stoppers, and
we have Cindy, who is our lawenforcement coordinator for
Crime Stoppers.
You want to tell us a littlebit about your roles and then
we'll jump into how we gotconnected in our partnership
(01:28):
with Crime Stoppers.
Angela Barnard (01:29):
Sounds good.
Thanks, Jamie.
I am the executive director forCrime Stoppers of Palm Beach
County.
We are one of 23 differentCrime Stoppers throughout the
state and my role is to prettymuch keep the business of Crime
Stoppers going and coordinatewith our law enforcement
coordinator, Cindy.
Cindy Lopez (01:47):
Hi, and I'm Cindy, so I'm the law enforcement
coordinator and the tipcoordinator, so I handle all the
tips that come in through our800 line, our website and our
mobile app, and then I alsocoordinate with all the agencies
as far as, like, there's anyparticular cases that they want
publicized through us, offerrewards, and then I send them to
their different departmentsbased on what kind of tip we get
(02:09):
Fantastic.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (02:10):
How many agencies are you guys working
with?
32.
32.
And that's across the county,just Palm Beach.
Cindy Lopez (02:15):
County, just Palm Beach County.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (02:17):
That's crazy .
Well, let's talk a little bitabout just what is this
partnership.
It's a new partnership.
It's a very excitingpartnership, how it kind of came
about and what it looks likefrom a 30,000 foot view.
Angela Barnard (02:29):
We had some supporters in common between our
two organizations, that kind ofthought there might be some
collaboration opportunities.
So we started talking oh, it'sbeen months now, probably about
six months in process on what wedo and what we do well from the
Crime Stopper standpoint withtips and anonymous tipsters, and
(02:51):
the protections we have and howthat could help improve with
human trafficking and tips thatmight come in for that.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (03:00):
And this is the first relationship that
you've really had that focusesspecifically on human
trafficking, right?
Yes, because what are some ofthe other crimes that people
would give tips on?
Cindy Lopez (03:09):
I mean we get tips on a bunch of different things.
homicides are our biggest one.
Fraud lately has been a reallybig one with the scams that
happen electronically.
All that especially withholidays that just happened.
We also get a lot of narcoticstips.
That's probably our secondlargest one is all the narcotics
tips and fugitives.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (03:27):
And I think what's really cool about Place
of Hope and what we do is we'revery entrepreneurial and our CEO
, Charles, is veryentrepreneurial, and we have
donors and supporters and boardmembers who are also in that
like mind and, like you said, wehave some mutual supporters and
we're really fighting the samefight in a lot of ways, but from
different aspects.
So I know we had one gentlemana one ,gentleman set forward
(03:49):
forward, and just said whatwould that look like?
How can we utilize these greatresources in the community and
how can we get behind it and howcan I steward my resources to
help put an end to this fightfrom a different perspective?
Right, Place of Hope is caringfor survivors of trafficking and
we're focusing on theintervention and prevention of
those that are in care.
But then how do we get thecommunity involved?
(04:11):
How do we get that informationout there?
And you guys have some greatsuccess stories.
I know you'll talk a little bitabout just some of the markers
that you've seen so far, but Ithink we're just we're very,
very excited about it.
We announced it.
You were at the Light in theShadows Luncheon.
What were your thoughts on theluncheon?
It was overwhelming.
Angela Barnard (04:26):
I mean the videos that you showed it was
you know really, really reacheddown to your heart.
They were great stories and itwas amazing to see all the
supporters there.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (04:35):
You guys are a part of that.
It's kind of cool 700,primarily women, right, but all
very excited and it's a heavytopic.
But I think we did a prettygood job of leaving people
inspired.
And you mentioned that just inthis short period of time since
we've really officially launchedand that was one of our
official launch dates you'vegotten a lot of tips so far,
right.
Cindy Lopez (04:53):
Oh, absolutely yeah .
In all of 2022 to 2023, we gotmaybe a total of like six or
seven tips of human trafficking,and then, just from
Thanksgiving to now, we'vegotten 14.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (05:06):
So double, double in one month, yeah, in
one month.
So that's absolutely incredible, so we're excited for that.
So, cindy or Angela, can youshare some insights into the
current state of maybe whatyou're seeing from your end for
Palm Beach County and, as awhole, maybe some specific
challenges faced by some peoplethat you might be interfacing
with?
Cindy Lopez (05:25):
Yeah, so I have been in law enforcement
previously for seven, six years.
I was in dispatch for six years.
So through that in Palm BeachCounty I saw how much human
trafficking is all around us.
We would get calls all the timeabout just certain people
looking suspicious or certainsituations that they encountered
(05:47):
, and it makes you reallyrealize that we're not immune to
it.
And then also, with ourBelgrade area out there, human
trafficking has is in so manydifferent forms that we even get
stories out there.
And as a minority I have seenit too with people that I know
firsthand when they explaincertain situations and you're
just like you know that's notright.
(06:08):
Florida, being surrounded byinternational waters, is just
such hot commodity state forthat.
And then Palm Beach Countyalone I've seen that we get a
lot of landings.
We have a lot of people whocome here with like a pretense
of something like with beachesfilled with street work, like
walkers and stuff that you haveno idea of.
(06:28):
They're doing this by force,right.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (06:31):
Right, yeah, that's one of the.
The focus is that we have aplace of hope, of spending a lot
of time trying to educatecommunity on what is human
trafficking, what does that looklike?
And and even leading up to andgrooming and kind of what that
looks like.
A lot of people will say and Ithink you saw, heard me say it
in the video at light, in theshadows, is a lot of people
think it's stranger danger andit's this white van pulling up.
(06:51):
But there's so much more right.
There's domestic servitude.
Maya and I were talking aboutthat this morning.
Just she was just in DominicanRepublic and just saw just what
we're so privileged here andwhat our world looks like is so
different in a different country.
But the domestic servitudewe're seeing it a variety of
ways and what street basedprostitution looks like in
Riviera Beach versus maybeBoglade versus Viral Beach, and
(07:14):
really trying to help thecommunity understand what that
looks like.
And then focusing on thegrooming and kids that are in
middle schools and high schoolsand what they're being affected
and how they're being impactedby sex distortion and there's
just so many ways.
The gangs in Boglade, a lot ofthe gangs and one of the young
ladies that came through ourcare.
She's been with us for years,mary.
(07:35):
She's a fantastic young ladyand you know we just thank God
that she ended up coming toplace of hope.
But she said that she's fromBoglade.
There really was, you playedfootball or you survived, and if
you're a lady you don't playfootball.
So what options are there?
So you know there's just a lotof opportunities.
So helping people understandwhat that looks like and not
necessarily just passingjudgment on oh, I see this lady
walking the street, you know forcrack or whatever, but really
(07:57):
helping focus on what are thesigns of that?
Is there's something wrong?
Is, you know, for a teacherthat's seeing a child, a student
coming into class, always beinglate or coming with some sort
of you know, bruises or marks orcuts or just different things,
trying to help awaken, right ourcommunity so they, they can
react appropriately, they canmake those types of phone calls.
So if somebody does want toreport a tip, what does that
(08:19):
look like?
How would they do that?
Cindy Lopez (08:20):
so what they?
They have three options toreport tips to crime stoppers.
You can call our 800 line,which goes to a call center
that's 24 7, or you can goonline on our website.
There's a form that you fillout all the information.
We also have an app called p3tips.
Then the more simplified number, which is one that john walsh
is working with this on, is likethe star star tips.
That is statewide so, and Iactually think it's national now
(08:43):
right right.
Angela Barnard (08:44):
So so it started in the state of Florida.
Attorney General Ashley moodykind of coordinated that and now
they've been promoting it.
So florida was first and, yes,it's going national yep, so star
, star tips anywhere you areanywhere.
Cindy Lopez (08:58):
Basically, it'll get your tip to the correct
crime stoppers for the area thatyou want to report it.
The app is also pretty easybecause it just goes based off
state, then county, and thenfrom there it'll go to the
correct one once you select thecounty that you're in.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (09:10):
So I want to get into in a minute what the
actual partnership is and whatthat match looks like, because
people need to know about that,of course, but we're talking
about the tipsters right now.
So how are we protecting thosekeeping their information
anonymous?
You know, if they're going onan app, what are you doing about
that and what does that looklike?
Cindy Lopez (09:27):
So the call center that we use is in Canada, so we
the calls don't ever comedirectly to me, unless the tips
or requests to speak directly tome.
I do not have caller ID on myphone.
The phone numbers don't comethrough our call center and
myself.
We never ask for name, noemails, no phone numbers,
nothing that identifies yourself.
When tips come in through theweb or the mobile app, I get
(09:48):
them all and I inspect them andI can edit them to edit out any
identifying information beforeit goes to law enforcement, so
nobody will ever know who youare.
If you did somehow identifyyourself, I remove it and that's
just something you know, basedon crime stoppers that I will
never reveal either.
Angela Barnard (10:04):
Right, absolutely.
In addition to that.
So there's multiple layers froma technology standpoint that
protects tipsters, but in thestate of Florida there's also a
law to protect tipsters and thetips that we receive, so that we
can't be compelled to provideany information, even if we, you
know, had something that mightlead someone to figure out.
(10:26):
Someone was awesome.
Maya Elias (10:29):
Hello and welcome to the segment entitled seat of
hope.
Today we would like to sharewith you all three stories of
either current or formerresidents of place of hope who
are human trafficking survivors.
Our first story at 12 and 16years old, three siblings were
brought from their home countrywith their parents to the US for
a better life.
Upon arrival, the traffickersstripped them of their visas
that the traffickers affordedfor them.
(10:50):
Not knowing the language, notknowing where they were and not
knowing the culture, the familywas terrified that they would be
deported or that their childrenwould be murdered.
They were forced into labortrafficking.
They spent 18 hours a dayworking only to not keep most of
their money.
Threatened by force and fraud,the children and family were
indebted to their traffickers.
Story number two Doug had beenphysically and sexually abused
(11:12):
as a child.
As a result, he was broughtinto the foster care system.
Such trauma led Doug into adark place.
He ran away from foster careand found himself on the streets
.
After days without food or dryand warm place to sleep, doug
met a man who offered them thosethings filling his needs.
Over time, the man builtrapport with Doug and he felt
safer with him than alone andstarving, until the day came
(11:34):
when Doug was faced withrepaying the man through
commercial sex, embarrassed,feeling trapped and not knowing
where else to go or how hecomplied.
For most of her childhood,tabitha's mom was incarcerated.
She grew up not knowing her momand not knowing what it felt
like to have a mom.
At 12 years old, tabitha's momwas released from jail and for
the first time she was able tolovingly embrace the woman she
(11:55):
yearned for her whole life.
Her mom told her that she wassick and that Tabitha could help
her get better.
She explained her sickness wasa drug addiction and the only
way to help her get better wasto continue using.
And the only way that she couldafford her habit was if Tabitha
slept with men for money andgave her mom the money.
Her mom reminded Tabitha thatshe loved her and she was so
proud of her and, more thananything, needed her help.
(12:17):
And more than anything, tabithawanted to be loved and seen by
her mom.
So she complied.
Tabitha was trafficked by hermom at 12 years old.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (12:26):
Well, and let's talk about what the tips
is.
So what is this reward?
Do you want to tell us aboutthis incentive?
Tell us about what you guys aredoing already and then what
this incentive looks like andwhat that really amounts to.
Angela Barnard (12:36):
Sure, so the board of directors for crime
stoppers.
They are volunteers, they mustlive in the county and they get
together once a month toevaluate the tips that have
resulted in arrests.
So we look at those.
There is a point systemdepending on the type of crime
Did we recover stolen propertyor narcotics, things like that
(12:58):
that determines how much the tipis valued at.
We range anywhere from $100,000to $3,000, depending on that,
and we were lucky enough tocollaborate with you and you're
able to come in and match up to$2,000 for our tips that leads
to human trafficking arrests.
(13:18):
So you're looking atpotentially up to $5,000 for
human trafficking tips.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (13:23):
That's fantastic, that's amazing.
We hope that that is anincentive enough.
I mean, it's hard to say ifthat really is, but to have such
numbers, I believe it is.
Cindy Lopez (13:32):
I mean, we offer an option sometimes to agencies
and families to add additionalrewards for their family members
case and I have noticed thatwhen, for example, a homicide
reward is up from $3,000 to$6,000, we do tend to get more
response like more tips.
Come in for it.
Yes, sometimes some of themdon't need anywhere, but the
(13:53):
more information that gets outthere, the more that it can help
agencies get somewhere.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (13:59):
Absolutely.
And people have asked unrelatedto crime stoppers, but related
in the conversation.
People have asked before ifthey're calling the Pleyris
Project or the National HumanTrafficking Hotline and I'm not
really sure if I'm seeingsomething.
Really, should I make thatphone call?
And I always encourage them to,because you don't always
realize there could be otherpieces that are out there and
you could just be that missinglink, that missing puzzle piece
(14:21):
that really helps bring it alltogether.
What would you say to that?
Cindy Lopez (14:25):
I have some tips that I, every time I get a tip,
I search it through the databaseto see if anything else has
come in in that area that'ssimilar, similar descriptions,
similar situations, and if itdoes, I make sure to compile
that like could be relatedbecause, you're right, it could
all as one form, somethingAbsolutely.
(14:45):
Did you have anything youwanted to add to?
Jamie Bond Ciancio (14:46):
that?
Angela Barnard (14:47):
No, that's pretty much what Cindy said,
plus it may be something wherewe get something now that
doesn't lead to an arrest thismonth, but then someone else
notices something else and theyreport it and it builds on that
because, like Cindy said, shekeeps track.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (15:01):
Yeah absolutely so.
Let's take it back in a.
So it's the new year.
We just wrapped up 2023.
We're kicking off 2024.
It's National Human TraffickingAwareness Month, so we're
excited to have you here.
But you guys so we've beenaround since 2001,.
But you guys, Crime Stoppers,have been around since 1981.
Is that correct?
Yes, so tell us a little bitabout just how you evolved.
You know what?
(15:21):
Maybe some future plans orstrategies.
Do you have to really continueto impact Palm Beach County?
And then, what does it looklike for South Florida as a?
Angela Barnard (15:29):
whole.
So evolution, wise from atechnology aspect, is always
funny.
When I joined and learned thatthey took these tips, there was
a single phone that was theCrime Stoppers phone, you know,
and they're taking the tips Likethe Batphone.
Cindy Lopez (15:42):
Yeah, exactly, I think the last time was.
2015 was the last time westopped using that notebook.
It is a literal notebook wherethey were writing each tip down
the ID, the information, thecase number for the agency.
Like it's crazy, that's awesome, so it's nice.
Angela Barnard (16:00):
You know, technology is kept up.
Now we've got the app, we'vegot the star star tips, so
people have multitude of ways toreach us and we also have a lot
more collaboration between thedifferent Crime Stoppers
organizations throughout thecountry because of that.
So I'm excited.
It's my first year as executivedirector and having these
(16:21):
community outreaches becausewe've got Place of Hope.
We've also reached out withinner city innovators, so we've
got some other outreaches.
We do the tip portion of thingsreally well.
We're very proud of that.
But it's nice for our boardmembers and our volunteers to
see that the next step issomething like Place of Hope
(16:43):
being able to help after thattip and that arrest is made,
what happens.
So it's finishing the story forus, which is nice.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (16:52):
That's awesome, that's awesome, and you
have an event coming up January27th.
Angela Barnard (16:58):
So this is our biggest event that we have
hosted now.
This is our 13th year.
It's called Cruisin' for CrimeStoppers and it is a community
awareness event as well as afundraiser for us, and we invite
the entire community to comeout Village of Wellington
Amphitheater that morning.
We're going to have about 500motorcycles that will ride 100
(17:22):
miles through the county andbasically spread the word of
Crime Stoppers and we will havefood and music and all that kind
of good stuff afterwards.
If you don't know what CrimeStoppers is, come out and learn
more about us.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (17:36):
So you don't have to ride a motorcycle to
attend.
You do not.
You can still come out andsupport Yep.
Angela Barnard (17:41):
So after the motorcycles come back in around
1 pm, join us for the afterparty live music.
Everything is open to thepublic.
Cindy Lopez (17:49):
Graffles and everything.
Lots of great prizes.
There you go.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (17:51):
And you mentioned it was a fundraiser.
So what does that particularlygo for?
Angela Barnard (17:56):
It goes towards our operations.
It goes somewhat towards ourtips, our rewards that we pay
out.
So some of the tips we getfunds from different sources and
some of the tips, if they don'tlead to an arrest.
Sometimes our board members arelike that person really put
themselves out there.
Or it might be especially instudent Crime Stoppers in the
(18:20):
schools, where it might not leadto an arrest but it might lead
to some services being offeredto a student or a family and in
those cases we feel it'simportant to be able to provide
them with rewards.
So that's where that money goes.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (18:36):
Talk a little bit about student Crime
Stoppers.
We haven't talked about thatyet.
Cindy Lopez (18:38):
Yeah, so I actually was going to touch base on that
.
Perfect, because one of thethings I was going to say
earlier too is you know, palmBeach County has a lot of stay
homes for kids, foster carehomes, so I know that those are
a huge target.
So for these kids that are inhigh school to know that they
have an outlet.
There's so many school programsthat you can report to, but
(18:59):
unfortunately, crime Stoppers isthe only truly anonymous one.
Some of the other ones theystill ask for a phone number.
They still ask for your firstname at least, and your school,
whereas Crime Stoppers won't askyou anything at all.
So for student Crime Stoppers,we offer rewards of up to $1,000
if it happened on campus, butthat doesn't mean you can only
report things that happen oncampus.
You can report things that havehappened outside of campus.
(19:21):
We are forming a really greatrelationship with a lot of the
school resource officers, so alot of them actually have
students who come to them, butthen they tell these students to
go to Crime Stoppers toeliminate their potentially
having to testify beingidentified, because that's
ultimately one of the reasons Ido have a lot of agencies that
(19:41):
are happy to tell people to goto Crime Stoppers.
It's because people want tostay safe and they know that if
they say something and someonefinds out, they may not be safe.
So we offer that safety outlet.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (19:52):
Yeah, that's awesome.
That's really good to know.
I had a group of women that Iwent and spoke.
I did a presentation a coupleof months ago and they said
we've been wanting to havesomebody come talk about human
trafficking for so long butwe're actually fearful that if
we are known as a group ofpeople that are helping spread
awareness about humantrafficking, that it could put
our safety at risk.
And it's kind of heartbreakingand it's heartening to hear that
(20:15):
is the case but that's thetruth.
So that's awesome that you guysoffer that in those schools and
that the SROs are on board, andthat's awesome.
Maya Elias (20:25):
Hello and welcome to this segment entitled Hope and
Action.
For this segment of Hope andAction, we would like to share
some history about HumanTrafficking Awareness Month.
January is observed as NationalHuman Trafficking Prevention
Month in the United States since2010.
The month is dedicated toraising awareness about human
trafficking and educating thepublic on identification and
(20:45):
prevention.
The US Department of Statecollaborates with US embassies
and consulates to promoteawareness globally.
The initiative traces back tothe Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000, or knownas the TVPA, with President
Barack Obama officiallydeclaring January as National
Slavery and Human TraffickingPrevention Month in 2010.
(21:06):
President Biden has continuedthis tradition, emphasizing the
commitment to protectingsurvivors, prosecuting
traffickers and ending humantrafficking.
Presidential proclamationshighlight key policy
achievements, such as theExecutive Order in 2012, the
Formation of the US AdvisoryCouncil on Human Trafficking in
2016, the launch of the programto end modern slavery in 2017,
(21:28):
and the updated National ActionPlan in 2021.
Human trafficking encompassesforced labor and sex trafficking
, and this poses a threat toglobal peace, security and human
dignity.
Over 27.6 million people,including those in the US, are
estimated to be victims of humantrafficking.
The COVID-19 pandemic has notdeterred traffickers who exploit
(21:51):
vulnerabilities caused bynatural disasters and conflicts.
Many countries, following the3-P Paradigyam preventing,
protecting and prosecuting haveimplemented anti-trafficking
laws.
Despite international efforts,however, traffickers still
persist, prompting a call toaction in every presidential
proclamation for individuals toplay a crucial role in combating
(22:13):
human trafficking.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (22:18):
I want to talk in a minute about how you
both got involved and what ledyou into this, but as you were
talking, it made me wonder inwhat ways you talked about
there's 32 agencies you'reworking with.
So what other ways is CrimeStoppers engaging with law
enforcement, engaging with themedia and engaging with the
community in general to get theword out there?
(22:39):
Like you said, you guys do sucha great job, but how are you
getting that word out there andhow can we help get that out
there?
Angela Barnard (22:45):
So you've probably seen a billboard or a
bus stop that we've got ourmaterials at.
So that's just general kind offor people passing by.
We do a lot of communityoutreach.
We're gonna be at Garlic Fest,we're you know, different things
like that.
Community events, we reach out.
We've gone to speak atdifferent schools from
(23:08):
elementary, middle, high schoolcolleges, so trying to get that
information out there.
We are building much more onour social media platforms
because we want to be able toreach a younger audience,
Absolutely.
Cindy Lopez (23:22):
Along with the social media.
You know I've been reallytrying to get our following up
there with like Instagram andFacebook primarily, but we've
talked about possibly doingreels and starting to do like
little clips with detectives andthings like that.
I have started to reach out toa lot of agencies to do kind of
like a Crime Stoppers trainingcourse at their new hires.
(23:42):
So we're doing one this monthactually with Riviera Beach at
their training.
We're doing a presentation.
That way they all know what weoffer, what they can send to us,
cause a lot of them they onlythink they can send high profile
stuff to us but we'll takeanything we do animal abuse and
then we want to let them knowabout the human trafficking,
because we know that there's alot of agencies that have task
(24:03):
force specifically for that.
So if they know that now we'reoffering this incentive, they
know that they could possiblysend victims or previous victims
that have information but arescared to us.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (24:13):
Absolutely.
Oh, that's fantastic.
That's so good to hear.
So let's go back and talk aboutyou.
Know how you got involved, whatbrought you here, cause you've
been here now a year as theexecutive director.
Angela Barnard (24:22):
I was a board member prior to that.
So I am a small business ownerhere in Palm Beach County.
I've been here for over 20years.
Someone brought me in as aboard member and, like I said,
you know it's interesting tohear.
It's, you know, kind ofheartbreaking to hear some of
the stories, but I felt like wewere doing something good.
We wanted to get that word outthere and I think part of what
(24:44):
makes you realize people want todo the right thing.
A lot of the rewards gounclaimed.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (24:51):
When I heard that, it was very interesting
to me that that's the case.
Angela Barnard (24:54):
Yeah, so we.
I think they about 30% of ourrewards get claimed and the rest
of them just go back into ourfunds.
But so as a board member thatwas you know I was hooked, and
then, when the opportunity cameup to become executive director,
I thought, yep, that's, I'mready to do something different.
(25:14):
That's awesome.
So, harold, and you still run abusiness full time I do have
the business, but I'm kind ofphasing out of that.
Cindy Lopez (25:22):
Yeah.
And then what about you, cindy?
So I've been in law enforcementfor quite a bit.
I was a judicial assistant fora felony judge for about three
years and then I starteddispatch, did that for six years
and then family kind of made meswitch tolls on like hours and
stuff.
But since being in CrimeStoppers it's I've always had a
passion for like investigativethings and with Crime Stoppers
(25:43):
it gives me that opportunity todo it.
But then also you get somesense of like you're doing the
right thing because it's likeyou're helping solve these cases
for people with these tipsersand every tipster I've ever
spoken to.
When it comes to the rewardprocess, they have been so
grateful.
A lot of them are so surprisedat how much they're getting.
Some of them are surprisedthey're even getting anything.
(26:04):
So it's just been reallyrewarding.
And now I've got this passionfor it with Crime Stoppers.
It's like I really want tobuild their social media.
I want to do all these things.
Angela Barnard (26:13):
So having some fun with it, she and I, because
we're we've both been in thesepositions only a little over a
year and I'm just under a year.
It's been fun, new energy andwe're kind of building off of
each other on our skills.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (26:28):
That's exciting, that's really cool.
So do either one of you or bothof you have, just in your short
period of time at least andyou've been, you know, for a
while but is there any storythat really stands out to you?
That's like.
This is why we do it, like thisis why I get up every day and
this is what I, you know, reallyfocus on, so anything that just
really just warms your heart.
Cindy Lopez (26:45):
I mean just in Crime Stoppers alone.
You know we got a tip once andI know you'll remember this one
because it was a pretty like ohmy God, we got a tip once where
they were calling to report, youknow, about the safety of a
child.
So you know I was able our callcenter is amazing, they are 24
seven.
This tip came in at like threeo'clock in the morning and they
called me right away so that Icould look at it and as soon as
(27:08):
I did I sent it.
I was like, okay, go ahead andcall the police and have them
dispatch immediately.
So they did.
They were able to recover thechild, they were safe, like the
mother was arrested.
It's just those kind of things.
It's like you do this for areason, because apparently it
was a situation that's arecurring incident that was
happening, and because somebodywas able to feel safe enough to
(27:29):
call us and we responded thatquickly, like a child's life was
possibly saved, so that kind ofstuff.
And then just working in lawenforcement, there's so many
times where it's like whatyou're doing serves a purpose.
It's a thankless job, but it's.
You get the thanks and thesatisfaction that you're doing
something right for thecommunity.
Angela Barnard (27:47):
I think some of what reaches my heart is some of
these people, the victimsespecially.
So we've had this situationwhere I think you received a
call out of out of the westernpart of the county and you know
this mom tried everything shecould to keep a child safe and
in the end got involved and hewas murdered and that's a sad,
(28:12):
horrible situation.
But at least we're able to tryand help her, get some closure,
get some justice.
So try and help that situationwhere we get the tips that can
possibly put the culprit underarrest.
Cindy Lopez (28:26):
And I will say a lot of my homicide families.
They really touch my heartbecause the police, the police,
they do a lot but they can't beupfront with everything they're
doing right away to not impacttheir investigation.
So when they call me and I'mable to put up a poster of their
child that they can drive byevery day, like those little
(28:48):
things it's, you know, they'reso appreciative of it and all of
it a lot of times the firstquestion is how much will that
cost me?
And I'm so happy that I cantell them nothing.
It'll cost you nothing.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (28:59):
That's awesome.
Anything that we haven'tcovered that you want to share,
talk about.
Ask Maybe some 2024 goals Forme, at least for Crime Stoppers.
Cindy Lopez (29:08):
My goals are really to up the amount of.
I mean, we already get so manytips, but I really want to up it
, like the more information wecan get, the better.
I want to really up our socialmedia, you know, keep bringing
awareness to it.
One of the biggest things thatI think I've found out is that a
lot of people know who we areand might know what we are, but
(29:29):
they don't know how we work.
And once they find out how wework and how we truly are
anonymous, from the moment youcall us to the moment you get
your money like they're amazed.
Because that's the biggest oneis how do I get money if I'm
anonymous?
We have a safe, solid processon how you get your reward.
We will never know who you are.
No one will.
Angela Barnard (29:49):
We've had some funny results out Well, what
about this, what about that?
And we're like nope, this ishow we handle that, that's how
we handle that situation, soit's funny how that works out.
The other thing that we'rereally focusing on is we want
people to understand that CrimeStoppers of Palm Beach County is
an independent, not-for-profitorganization.
We are not part of lawenforcement.
So, while a lot of your lawenforcement agencies may have
(30:12):
their own tip lines, we are theanonymous tip line.
So Anonymous, okay.
Cindy Lopez (30:17):
And I think the biggest thing too is a lot of
people think ours is for arrestand conviction, because a lot of
the agencies who have their owntip line do advertise arrest
and conviction.
We are just arrest.
We also, on certain occasions,will pay out for recovery of
property and narcotics,depending on what it is.
I know we have talked aboutwith the human trafficking
collaboration.
If there's recovery of victims,that is something that will be
(30:40):
considered for a reward as well.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (30:41):
Yeah, arrest and recovery in a human
trafficking investigation yeah,that's awesome.
Well, I think it's really coolbecause I mean so to know that
you guys have been around since1981, it makes sense.
So I was born in 1983.
I've grown up hearing aboutCrime Stoppers and it's like
that billboard, like you said.
You know it's there but youdon't really know what it is or
what it was.
So when Charles said, hey, Ithink we're going to do this
(31:04):
thing with Crime Stoppers, I'mlike that's awesome.
But what is the thing?
How's this going to work?
So it's just been a privilege.
It's been awesome to really getto know you ladies and just
your hearts, and we're excitedfor you.
And I know we have someco-branded materials.
We have our Rack Card, sothat's co-branded.
We handed those out all at thelight and the shadows, as well
as your information.
So the student Crime Stoppersas well as this one, all of that
(31:25):
went in.
All of this information isavailable for anybody who wants.
We have it on social.
We're going to be tagging you alot in the month of January as
it's National Human TraffickingAwareness Month.
You know we want to get thatinformation out to people really
what human trafficking lookslike having them understand what
it looks like in its boys andgirls and its all ages, and
there's multiple varieties ofhuman trafficking and victims
(31:47):
and predators that are out there.
So we're very excited to beworking with you.
I think that pretty much wrapsus up, unless you have anything
else you want to add.
Angela Barnard (31:54):
No, we are excited as well because this
collaboration will lead us topotentially others with other
other organizations in thecounty.
That helps us get our word outas well.
Cindy Lopez (32:03):
Yeah, and if you're ever at an event, especially
our Murder Secreide, all thematerials for this collab will
also be at our event, at anyfuture events that we go to,
because we do go to whatprobably like one a month, if
not two a month.
Yeah, yeah, we had the PublicSafety.
Jamie Bond Ciancio (32:17):
Expo.
Right, I bet you guys werethere and we'll be.
At the Cruisin' for CrimeStoppers We'll be there.
I won't be there, but the teamwill be there.
We're excited.
We're happy to be partnering.
Charles Bender (32:26):
Thank you for listening.
Please be sure to subscribe andshare with your friends so you
don't even miss a thing, and ifyou really gained value today,
please be sure to give us afive-star review so, of course,
we can be put in front of morelisteners.
For details and show notesabout today's podcast and how
you can connect with and supportour guests, please go to
placeofhopecom, forward slashpodcast and please don't forget
to email us atpohpodcastatplaceofhopecom.
(32:49):
And, for sure, follow us onsocial media.
Ambassadors of hope placinghope in a child's future.
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