Monday chat: Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers has new director

PORT ST. LUCIE — Having a law enforcement background is both a help and a frustration, according to the new executive director of Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers, Ed Glaser, 57.

Former director of advanced training for the Sebastian Police Department, he holds bachelor and master’s degrees in human resource development from Barry University.

He is married and has four children and three grandchildren.

Q. What is Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers?

A. Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers in a nonprofit agency begun in the 1980s to make it easy for citizens to give tips about crimes anonymously and possibly receive a reward if the tip leads to arrest of someone, the recovery of stolen property and other things.

Q. What areas of the Treasure Coast does it cover?

A. Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties, which are in the 19th Judicial Circuit.

Q. How is this program supported?

A. It is supported by the Office of the Florida State Attorney General.

Q. How does this program operate?

A. We have the ability to reach out through radio, TV, newspapers and social media such as Facebook, to provide the public with information on how to get their tips to us and to law enforcement anonymously. We have a website that people can go on:www.TCWatch.org. And, we have a free telephone number 1-800-273-TIPS. The 800 number is monitored 24/7 by a company with which we contract. That company asks a series of questions to help law enforcement then give the caller a number by which they are known in the system. We pass the tip along and sometimes the callers will be paid a reward. Law enforcement will send us a report on what they did with the tip. Every Thursday from 8 a.m. until noon people can call the 800 number and learn if they have a reward. The amount of the reward depend upon the seriousness of the crime. Murder tips obviously pay more.

Q. Do a lot of people claim these rewards?

A. No. Not everyone. Some people just call in the tips because they want a lawful community and are not interested in any other reward.

Q. Does having a long law enforcement background help in this job?

A. Yes, because when I hear the tips, I can tell a lot about who will find it useful and I know to whom it should be sent just based on my experience. But it also can be frustrating because I only forward the tips; sometimes the old investigator in me wants to get into the issue, ask more questions and do investigations. But I can’t do that.

Q. Do you accept donations?

A. Yes … anyone who might want to donate can contact us at 772-871-5360.

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Bridging the virtual divide

Authors are using social media to go beyond just marketing their books. They are also gathering invaluable feedback, discussions and critique

Author Amish Tripathi’s Facebook group page is buzzing with activity these days. The author whose book, Immortals of Meluha , was well received by readers, released the sequel to the book, The Secret of the Nagas recently. To some of Tripathi’s posts, more than 100 comments follow. The discussions begin with the book, move on to the writing and the inspirations. Similar discussions ensue on Tripati’s Twitter page. Tripathi isn’t selling his book on Facebook or Twitter, atleast not directly. All he is doing is engaging in “a meaningful conversation” with his fans. But like Tripathi, a new crop of writers is using social media to get invaluable feedback.

Writers are progressively realising that being a presence online makes for a fantastic interaction opportunity. Using social media to promote a book is old news, but using it to bridge the gap between writer and reader seems like the next step in evolution. “What happens after I write a book and sell it?” asks Edinburg-based author, Lin Anderson. Anderson, who attends a number of book festivals and conducts library appearances around the country, feels that readers like to hear about the inspirations for a book. Anderson’s Twitter account is fairly active and she answers to a number of comments and questions on the site. “I also answer all fan mail to my website, which usually surprises many people, but I like to make contact with my readers. I think there is a gap between readers and many authors like to work in isolation. I don’t know what works best, but being available to your reader is a big learning. Some of the more popular authors might be deluged with contact they can’t respond to. However, I have noticed that some of these writers employ someone to tweet or blog for them, because they believe it’s important to keep the contact. After all, if people don’t buy and read our books, we couldn’t operate as writers.”

… contd.

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