Why Silent Witness is "Amazing"

Silent Witness aims to provide closure

Rachel Glass' voice still breaks with emotion as she talks about her daughter, who was murdered two years ago.

"She was awesome," Glass said. "She was really a lovely girl. She truly was the kind of person that when she walked into a room, lit up the room."

Nicole Glass and her roommate, Melissa Mason, were found dead in their locked home near 44th Street and Thomas Road on Dec. 3, 2010. Mason was eight weeks pregnant at the time of her death.

The women, both 27, were found strangled, Phoenix police said.

Two years later and after exhausting all viable leads, the police and family turned to Silent Witness for help.

Shortly after the murders, the Glass family and their friends handed out fliers at supermarkets near the home and went around the neighborhood in search of people who might have information.

"We don't have anything," Glass said. "That is why Silent Witness is so important."

Silent Witness, a non-profit organization, partners with Valley law-enforcement agencies to help solve felonies by using anonymous tips from the public. A 25-member civilian board of directors oversees the program and approves the amount of payout for each viable tip.

"About 200 worst-of-the-worst violent felony arrests (each year) are based on Silent Witness," said Phoenix Sgt. Darren Burch, program coordinator. "We're talking homicides, sexual assaults, armed robberies, kidnappings."

Burch said the program was instrumental in a number of high-profile investigations, including those of "Serial Shooters" Dale Hausner and Samuel Dieteman; "Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau; and Jhessye Shockley, a 5-year-old missing Glendale girl who police believe was killed by her mother.

How the program works is simple.

Program staff provide information on unsolved felony cases to the media and billboard companies, which help publicize the information.

Glass and Burch already have made their rounds to local media outlets, and a sign company is posting the case information on billboards through December.

The public calls in or e-mails a tip, which the group routes to the respective police agency and case agent.

The tipster, who remains anonymous, could receive up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest or indictment in a case. The public and family can kick in additional reward money.

The Glass family, through such fundraising events as car washes and donations, has increased the reward to $10,000 for a tip leading to an arrest in their case.

The staff, which includes Burch, two Phoenix detectives, one Mesa detective and a civilian, answers the phones, sorts through the incoming tips and does basic research if the information is too vague before passing it off to the proper jurisdiction.

The program on average receives 1,500 tips a month, Burch said.

"Out of 1,500 tips each month, we can range from 10 to 28 arrests," he said.

The program's staff is half of what it was five years ago because of budget constraints.

Rollie Trayte, who has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement and retail security, has served on the board since 1998.

Trayte said one of his tasks is to find people and companies willing to support the program financially.

"It's easy to garner support for the cause because we have great results," said Trayte, who was a past board president. "It sure as heck feels great when we get the bad guys off the streets."

Joining the board was a natural given Trayte's background.

"It's emotional," he said of the cases over the years. "There have been a couple of cases that have dogged us."

One case that stands out for Trayte involves an older Glendale couple who were driving home when shots were fired into their pickup truck. The husband was killed.

"It's been hanging out there for probably close to 10 years," he said.

Silent Witness

The Phoenix Police Department established Silent Witness more than 30 years ago following a string of violent business robberies, said Sgt. Darren Burch, who heads the program. The program is under the umbrella of Crime Stoppers, which began in Albuquerque in 1976 and is now international.

The program has since been embraced by law enforcement Valley-wide. Luke Air Force Base is the latest entity to partner with Silent Witness, Burch said.

A 25-member civilian board oversees the non-profit program funded entirely by donations and grants. The program hosts fundraisers, including an annual golf tournament and crime bracelets to generate the reward money.

The program takes anonymous calls from the public on felony cases. Tipsters remain anonymous and are given a secret number when they call.

A tipster uses the secret number to check if the tip resulted in an arrest. If an arrest occurred, the tipster is directed to a partnering bank where the secret number is given to a teller who hands over the reward money in cash.

Call 480-WITNESS, 800-343-TIPS or go to silentwitness.org.

YEAR FELONY ARRESTS FELONY CASES SOLVED

2008 149 222

2009 205 298

2010 216 304

2011 155 226

Source: Silent Witness