Harris County auditors recommended tighter controls and oversight of county donations to...
Harris County auditors recommended tighter controls and oversight of county donations to Crime Stoppers of Houston Tuesday after the nonprofit all but thwarted the department’s review of its finances, saying its cooperation was “not legally required.”and had become more partisan, particularly in its statements about local crime and bail reform efforts.Auditors attempted to review all Harris County monies donated to the non-profit between 2012 and 2022 — more than $7.
“The documents they provided were high level summary documents,” Chief Assistant County Auditor Errika Perkins said, in an interview with the Chronicle. “We needed detailed expenditure documents. They felt like they were not legally obligated to provide those details.”Crime Stoppers of Houston is drawing scrutiny with partisan voice
Perkins also recommended the county include legally binding language in future Crime Stoppers contracts that guarantee a right to audit the organization’s use of those funds, a practice used in a 2013-2015 contract between the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Crime Stoppers. Over a 10 year period, county commissioners, the Harris County District Attorney and County Attorney offices and several of its law enforcement agencies donated about $2 million, to Crime Stoppers.
At the same time, county agencies also donated tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in seized forfeiture funds, the most significant gift coming in 2021, when Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg — who once led Crime Stoppers — donated more than $500,000 to the organization.
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