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12 May 2008
Shopping cart retrieval program needs a catchy acronym
Cory Crow is most pleased with HPD's latest crime-reducing program: retrieving abandoned shopping carts:
So, if you add up the benefits of cost control for the owners, crime prevention and neighborhood beautification you end up with a nice, tidy program that actually does something to combat crime.
All of that without an acronym. Good job HPD.
I dunno. This program seems tailor-made for an acronym.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ acronym"> 05/12/08 07:06 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)
27 April 2006
Fighting crime: A van AND an acronym!
Yesterday, we learned that HPD would be breaking out a new crimefighting van to take on the rising murder rate.
Today's reporting suggests that HPD is breaking out all the stops. Not only will there be a new van to fight crime, but Chief Hurtt has unveiled a new acronym:
Houston police hope a new mobile command center will help fight crime in the city's most dangerous neighborhoods, KPRC Local 2 reported Thursday.U-net, which stands for Unified Neighborhood Enhancement Team, is a police station on wheels where officers can access information and process criminals.
[snip]
U-net was unveiled Wednesday at a substation on Fondren and West Bellfort in southwest Houston.
In a Lone Star Times exclusive, Matt Bramanti managed to get a photo of the U-Net van in action.
MayorWhiteChiefHurtt clearly have the bad guys on the run now!
BLOGVERSATION: Cigars, Donuts, and Coffee.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ crime: A van AND an acronym!"> 04/27/06 07:29 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
19 May 2006
UNET acronym fails to deter bad guys
Earlier today, Owen Courrčges noted a KPRC-2 report on the latest crimefighting action by the UNET Crime Van:
A new Houston Police Department crime van helped some crime victims Wednesday night in southwest Houston.
U-Net, which stands for Unified Neighborhood Enhancement Team, was parked on Bissonnet at Fondren.
It was across the street from an apartment complex where three shotgun-carrying robbers held up three men at 3:30 a.m. One of the men was beaten.
The crime victims spotted the mobile police unit and ran there for help.
U-Net had only been parked in that location for about 12 hours when the crime happened.
The mobile unit was launched as a high-profile deterrent to crime in high-crime areas.
It's reader participation time. Please feel free to supply your own one-liner
Posted by Kevin Whited @ acronym fails to deter bad guys"> 05/19/06 07:02 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
21 June 2006
Latest crime acronym yields 300+ arrests (not thousands)
Remember last week when KHOU-11 excitedly reported on HPD's sweeps of apartments:
Houston police officers have been going undercover for weeks, arresting thousands.
We questioned that figure at the time. As the Chronicle reports today, it wasn't accurate:
A police crackdown that dispersed 100 officers per day to five high-risk apartment complexes has netted more than 300 arrests since the program began earlier this month, authorities said.
"Houston is not safe for criminals, and we're making it much less safe for criminals every single day," Mayor Bill White said Tuesday at a news conference to announce the preliminary results.The Strategic Tactical Operation Program is the latest initiative rolled out by the Houston Police Department to curb rising crime rates in southwest Houston.
"The overall goal of (STOP) is to direct resources where they are most needed; saturate the area; and actively engage in crime suppression, criminal apprehension and the restoration of order," said HPD Capt. M.E. Lentschke .
More than 600 criminal charges were filed since June 2, police said, when the additional contingent of HPD officers began patrolling the targeted apartment communities.
Of course, it wouldn't be Hurtt/White-style crimefighting if it didn't have a goofy acronym.
Maybe the Chronicle should send Mike Tolson out to interview some of the residents of the apartments that HPD has targeted. Those residents would probably appreciate his telling them that all their fears are irrational and that crime is a lot like hemlines and home prices!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ crime acronym yields 300+ arrests (not thousands)"> 06/21/06 10:55 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (13)
03 May 2006
Hurtt: Surging murder rate "very much unacceptable"
KPRC-2 reports that the murder rate in Houston shot up again in April:
Houston's murder rate for April was the highest in the past three years, KPRC Local 2 reported.Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt spoke at Wednesday's City Council meeting to discuss the rising violent crime rate.
There have been 124 homicides committed in Houston in the first four months of 2006, with 34 of those occurring in April. There were 27 murders reported in April 2005 and 28 in April 2004.
Not to worry, though. Houston's bumbling police chief bumbles through saying that this just won't do:
"We're here today to talk about some of the violent crime, specifically the murder rate," Hurtt said. "That is still very much unacceptable."
It's not merely unacceptable. It's VERY MUCH unacceptable! Got that, bad guys?
Chief Hurtt has deployed his van, after all, and an acronym:
The department recently rolled out a highly visible squad known as the Unified Neighborhood Enhancement Team. The officers assigned to the unit travel in a large van to different locations throughout southwest Houston, which has one of the highest violent crime rates in the city.
It wouldn't be perennial news ratings loser KPRC if there weren't some gaffes in the reporting:
Officials told KPRC Local 2 that residents are making officers aware of crimes that would normally go unreported.
Hurtt said the police department is still understaffed. He would like to add 5,000 new officers in the next couple of years.
We're thinking that the surge in April murder numbers -- the focus of the story (aside from the above digression) -- isn't explained by the fact that the Crime Van/Acronym combination has been out receiving corpses from residents who previously had not reported murders!
And while we certainly wish the chief were adding 5,000 new officers in two years, we think it's more likely that he said the department hopes to boost personnel to 5,000 officers total. It's hard to imagine the police force more than doubling in two years.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 05/03/06 09:40 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
20 October 2006
Time for a new crimefighting acronym!
KTRK-13 reports the rollout of another acronym to take on Houston's surging crime:
Police will soon have new eyes and ears inside Houston apartment complexes with the creation of a new program.
It's called The Police Apartment Clergy Team, or PACT. Officers work with local clergy to recruit married couples to live in local apartment complexes. The couples will serve as activity directors inside certain complexes to get to know the neighbors. From there, they'll act as liaisons between the tenants, the police and outside groups like the YMCA.
"There [sic] role is not to be a snitch," said with Jim Myers Brays with Oak Management District. "There [sic] role is to work with the tenants to make the complex a better complex, to answer some of the questions and some of the needs of the tenants."
It's impossible to make this stuff up. It's like The Onion meets clueless Houston political leaders, with surging murders and an out-of-town police chief all thrown in for fun! Well, fun except for the dead, injured, and burgled victims.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ crimefighting acronym!"> 10/20/06 11:01 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (13)
04 January 2006
New acronym unveiled to take on crime
KTRK-13's Christine Dobbyn reports that Chief Hurtt has unveiled a new acronym in his effort to get a handle on Houston's violent crime problem:
Chief Harold Hurtt announced a new initiative, the Neighborhood Enforcement Team Taskforce (NETT), to reduce crimes in specific areas of the city -- the Greenspoint area and the Southwest Freeway corridor. There is a long list of work they will focus on. They will work on identifying and registering 130 sex offenders from Louisiana to auto theft, prostitution, gangs and drugs, specifically in apartment complexes and motels where they have seen a high number of calls.
"We'll have officers working those areas by foot, on bicycle and of course, automobiles," said Chief Hurtt. "We are looking for high uniform presence not only to arrest people, but we are also interested in deterring crime and preventing it in the first place."
Chief Hurtt says officers will work overtime to focus on these areas. The extra hours are equal to about 150 officers.
KHOU-11 seems to be a little confused on that last:
Community activist Elaine Gaskamp says it's about time. "It takes manpower, that's the bottom line. We need more police."
A need that HPD's chief says he plans to fullfill by putting 150 more officers on the street through the NETT program.
More officers would be great, but for the most part we're talking about overtime authorization for existing manpower in targeted areas.
KHOU also posts a story tonight on a former HPD officer who left the force in 1998, enrolled in a recent academy, and is now claiming he was forced out of the academy because of his age. The allegation is under investigation by HPD internal affairs and the EEOC.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ acronym unveiled to take on crime"> 01/04/06 11:01 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
27 November 2006
You knew the mayoral press conference was coming
After several weeks of bad press on the rash of copper thefts across the Houston area, you just knew it was about time for a mayoral press conference to address the bad PR problem.
Right on cue, here's the Chronicle's coverage:
"The theft of copper and (other) metal drives up the cost of living for all Houstonians and all Americans," said Mayor Bill White, who attended a news conference announcing the sweep for thieves who have stripped huge air conditioners of copper content at churches and other buildings, sometimes working boldly in daylight hours. "All consumers are victims."
White said copper theft drives up home construction costs and prices on other products that contain the metal, which police said is selling for more than $4 a pound.
Metal thieves have formed elaborate trading systems in Houston and other cities that have developers thinking twice about building new subdivisions where police are not making special efforts to control the problem, White said.
"These are not easy crimes to solve," White said. "We can't be in a situation in which people cannot build houses."
Thieves have "cannibalized" residential and commercial construction sites and even invaded an unused police department building to take metal, police said. Thieves also have stolen the nozzles off of city fire hoses, [assistant police chief Vicki] King said.
This week's crime sweep is just one step in trying to reduce metal theft in Houston, King said.
Perhaps the lack of visible police presence because of the manpower problem helps embolden thieves and other criminals? Just a guess.
Chief Hurtt presumably is enjoying an extended Thanksgiving weekend in Phoenix. Otherwise, the latest crimefighting initiative would have gotten the proper acronym treatment!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/27/06 12:53 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (9)
29 July 2006
Chron neighborhood section recaps crimefighting-by-acronym initiatives
Jennifer Friedberg's recent article for a Chronicle neighborhood section was inadvertently amusing for its recap of MayorWhiteChiefHurtt's various crimefighting-by-acronym initiatives:
The first phase of STOP began in early June and lasted about eight days. Uniformed overtime officers were in marked vehicles, patrolling the streets.
Phase two is now under way. Overtime officers patrol hot spots and run warrants on suspects.During a journey through some of the more dangerous apartment complexes in the area earlier this month, officer Edgar DeJesus of the Fondren Patrol Division said he has noticed the streets have been quieter since the programs started.
"It's zero tolerance to let people know we're out there and we're not going away," he said.
The problem, DeJesus said, is the programs are not a long-term solution.
"Once you clean up one side, they go to the next one," he said. "They just go elsewhere to do whatever mischief they're going to do and come back home."
The other three overtime programs that began earlier this year are the Crime Reduction Initiative, where uniformed and undercover personnel patrol the southwest corridor; a Neighborhood Enforcement Team Task Force, where patrol divisions deployed personnel to respond to calls for service; and a Unified Neighborhood Enforcement Team Task Force, where tactical teams worked with investigative personnel such as the homicide and robbery units.
The initiatives don't have an end date, Cannon said. HPD recently received $18 million in federal funding that will help pay for the overtime.
Let's not leave out the Fear Reduction Initiative or the Crime Van.
If MayorWhiteChiefHurtt don't exactly have the city's bad guys on the run with the acronyms, just wait till they break out Hooked on Phonics for the next wave of crimefighting!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ crimefighting-by-acronym initiatives"> 07/29/06 02:28 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (2)
07 March 2006
Fear Reduction Initiative: Chief Hurtt says not to worry!
Police chief Harold Hurtt wants citizens in dangerous parts of town to feel better about crime.
Here's the HPD press release:
HPD Seeks to Reassure Public Through Fear Reduction Initiative
March 7, 2006 -- In an effort to reduce the level of fear reported by residents living in areas affected by recent crimes, Chief Harold Hurtt turned to his Community Relations Unit (CRU) to implement a Fear Reduction Initiative.With a reduction in personnel and limited resources, law enforcement agencies often become more keenly focused on addressing actual crimes while monitoring the fear of crime. However, "our perception of crime and the fear it produces can significantly impact our quality of life," says Sergeant Babb, who leads the CRU. "Fear of crime has the potential to impact our lives more than crime itself," says Babb. "While a violent crime may directly affect one individual, the resulting fear can be quite substantial and affect an entire community's day-to-day activities by causing some people to think twice before allowing their kids to play in the park, or walk to the corner store or school" said Babb.
We can't wait to hear what Chris Baker thinks of those first two paragraphs.
In fairness, this "initiative" mostly seems like making sure cops are getting out of their squad cars and getting into neighborhoods:
The CRU began their effort in those parts of the city experiencing an increase of crime. To date, officers have visited approximately 200 families. They focus on making personal contact with crime victims followed by door-to-door visits with others to hear their concerns and offer assistance when appropriate. Many of their visits are conducted in plain-clothes; however, they always display their law enforcement identification and badges.
It's not clear why Chief Hurtt is promoting this as yet another "initiative," since Chief and then Mayor Lee P. Brown was a major proponent of "neighborhood oriented policing" in the first place. Chief Hurtt really needs to come up with a better acronym and marketing plan for this one, though. The "fear reduction" psychobabble just comes off as... well, psychobabble. And psychobabble is no substitute for cops on the street engaging in a crime reduction initiative!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/07/06 10:56 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (19)
06 January 2007
Mayor White tackles convenience store crime with a task force!
Yes, Houston needs a task force to figure out how to reduce convenience store crime:
Mayor Bill White announced today the formation of the Mayor's Task Force on Convenience Store Security. Members will make recommendations aimed at curbing violent crime in convenience stores by reviewing new technologies, building codes, management processes, and law enforcement procedures.
Which means new city regulations will be required because that's how cities fix problems.
The answer is simple, as blogHOUSTON readers will know: punish convenience store owners for allowing crime to happen on their properties.
It's the logical approach to crime-fighting -- think graffiti and apartments --and it's easy to do. Fine store owners $20,000 or so each time their store is held up, then require that within two weeks, city-mandated security upgrades have been installed (see Metro Park and Pillage lots for guidance), and any building code violations have been addressed. After that, ensure that convenience store personnel attend management training classes conducted by the city (for a fee, of course), to learn how best to handle a robbery.
All this should be directed by a new city department. A contest will be held to come up with the acronym naming this new initiative. Leave your suggestions in the forum.
MORE: I just saw the Chron's story. The end (naturally!) includes a hint to another crime-fighting approach:
As the task force begins considering ways to make the industry safer, the store clerks suggested more patrols by Houston police officers, more street lights and enforcement of the Houston youth curfew.
Both clerks also agreed that more street lighting would improve overall neighborhood safety.
"It is too dark out here," Nguyen said. "And, everybody knows that Houston needs more police officers."
More police officers? Better street lighting? You mean the store clerks didn't suggest a task force to fix the crime problem?
Posted by Anne Linehan @ crime with a task force!"> 01/06/07 07:13 AM | Houston Politics | Technorati | Comments (15)
18 May 2006
UNET crime van needed at Minute Maid Park!
KTRK-13 reports that the UNET crime van is moving to a new neighborhood:
Houston police's mobile command unit has hit the streets again. It's the department's latest move to beef up its crime-fighting strength.
On Wednesday night, police parked their UNET vehicle on Bissonnet near Fondren in southwest Houston. UNET stands for Unified Neighborhood Enhancement Team and it's part of an initiative to provide a police presence in the city's most violent neighborhoods.
Meanwhile, KHOU-11 reports on a rash of crimes downtown:
Police say thieves are targeting cars parked in parking lots outside Minute Maid Park.
The problem is so bad undercover officers are on rooftops and on the ground near the lots. It was those plainclothes officers who spotted a man breaking into Dacy’s truck
Some fans are worried. “Oh yeah. I hear it all the time that cars are broken into,” said fan Patricia Sparks.
Police say they will continue their undercover sting operation around the park.
[snip]
Police arrested four people Tuesday night and another 10 last week during games.
While police say some cars are being stolen, many are burglaries where major damage is caused by a person stealing music CDs, change and clothing.
Since there apparently are not enough police officers to keep vehicles safe around the ballpark during games, maybe MayorWhiteChiefHurtt could redeploy the UNET crime van in one of the Astros parking lots and come up with a new acronym for the operation!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ crime van needed at Minute Maid Park!"> 05/18/06 09:23 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
07 May 2006
Surge in violent crime blamed on Katrina, lack of HPD manpower
The Chronicle's Allan Turner reports that Katrina refugees are being blamed by HPD for the recent surge in violent crime in Houston:
Violence among Hurricane Katrina evacuees, much of it occurring in southwest Houston neighborhoods targeted in a new anti-crime campaign, accounted for nearly a quarter of homicides in the city so far this year, police officials said Friday.
Since Jan. 1, police have investigated 124 homicides, 29 of which involved evacuees as victims or attackers, said Capt. Dale Brown of the Houston Police Department. There were 103 homicides over the same period last year; without the evacuee-related deaths this year, the city would have experienced a 7.8 percent decrease.
In the last four months of 2005, evacuees were victims or suspects in 18 homicides, accounting for 13 percent of such crimes during that period. A total 336 killings were investigated last year, representing a 22 percent increase over 2004.
"As it relates to murders, there's a definite Katrina effect, and it's most noticeable since December," Brown said.
Turner then suggests that the Katrina effect may not fully explain the surge in violent crime:
Brown's analysis of homicide trends — the numbers were increasing before Katrina evacuees arrived last fall — came as police began evaluating a 10-day experiment in which a mobile command unit was placed in high-crime neighborhoods.
[snip]
While Katrina evacuees contributed to the growing homicide numbers, [Chief Harold] Hurtt noted that upward trend in Houston was evident as early as last April or May. Hurtt said after that increase was detected, a city-federal task force was created to target violent offenders in southwest Houston neighborhoods. Five hundred suspects were arrested, he said.
Brown said Houston homicides peaked in 1979-83, a period when the department was understaffed as the city experienced a population boom, and again in 1989-91, as the department suffered a three-year hiring freeze as a result of the mid-1980s oil crash. A record 701 slayings were recorded in 1981.
The latest growth in lethal crime has occurred as the police department again has found itself short-staffed.
It doesn't take an advanced degree in criminal studies to come to the conclusion that police manpower probably has some connection with fighting crime.
Until local pols get HPD staffing levels where they need to be, Chief Hurtt is probably going to be forced to continue crimefighting via acronym and temporary sweeps that rely heavily on overtime pay.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ crime blamed on Katrina, lack of HPD manpower"> 05/07/06 06:21 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)
20 March 2008
Copper thievery continues
HPD needs a task force and an acronym:
Last week, copper thieves climbed up telephone poles and took the wire. Leaving an entire neighborhood without phone service.
After 11 News first reported the thefts, the phone company quickly got out there, replaced all the stolen wire, and restored phone service. Thing is, the thieves have done it again. [snip]
[snip]
The phone company said that the lines along Westmount Houston have been cut three times. Cutting service to about 1,000 people.
The phone company believes thieves are after the copper in the wires. This time, someone stole about 400 feet of the cable.
AT&T wouldn’t say what the value of the stolen cable is, but did say there's a greater cost to customers.
Customers who in times of emergency can't even call 911. So, crews were working around the clock to patch things up -- for a third time.
It sounds as if it's time for another HPD Copper Crime Sweep.
PREVIOUSLY: If you see a copper thief, be sure to call HPD, Copper thieves shut down downtown library
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 03/20/08 07:54 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (5)
24 January 2006
KHOU, Mayor's press shop extol crimefighting by acronym
Mayor White's communications shop certainly is effective at getting good press for the Mayor.
Take this press release story for KHOU-11 by Wendell Edwards:
A new program has put more Houston Police officers out on the streets, and it’s making a difference according to Houston's mayor.
Houston policeman Jeffrey Oliver has only been on the force for three years, but in that short time he said he’s seen it all.
“You have a lot more aggravated robberies, carjackings, a lot of homicides a lot of shootings in progress... that we respond to out here,” Officer Oliver said.
He’s a part of the Neighborhood Enforcement Team Task force program.
“Working on the west side and coming over here is like night and day,” he said.
It’s a program that has put the equivalent of 150 additional officers on the street by paying overtime.
The N.E.T.T. Program is not even a month old yet, and Mayor Bill White said there is proof that it is working.
In the two and half weeks since it started, police have written more than 900 citations and arrested 169 people. That’s an average of 10 arrests a day.
That sounds great, and certainly nobody can object to the increased manpower, but the story isn't complete because it offers no baseline for comparison. Did it not strike anyone at KHOU that the citation and arrest statistics aren't that informative if statistics from other points in time and other neighborhoods aren't provided?
As far as fighting crime with acronyms -- we're more inclined towards the Bauer Solution.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ crimefighting by acronym"> 01/24/06 09:16 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (4)
18 January 2006
Hurtt concedes continuing uptick in homicides (update)
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt announced today that January has already seen 21 homicides in Houston, a significant uptick from last year over the same period.
KHOU-11 and the Chronicle have both posted stories to their websites. It's interesting what each outlet led with.
Here's KHOU:
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said Wednesday that homicides, robberies and gang violence were at the top of the department’s list.
From the start of 2006 till Tuesday, there have been 21 homicides in Houston, Chief Hurtt said. It is a 50 percent more than in the same time frame last year.
“Unfortunately we have seen a significant increase since about the middle of last year of violent crime, and we’re taking some steps and hopefully we’re gonna change that direction here in the very near future,” he said.
Recently the Houston Police Department implemented a new task force to tackle four main hot spots for violent crime. Chief Hurtt said he hoped NETT, which stands for Neighborhood Enforcement Team Taskforce, would start seeing results by June or July.
According to Chief Hurtt, evacuees were involved in 23 homicides from September through the end of 2005, either as victims or suspects.
It can only improve, now that the acronym is in place.
Here's the Chronicle:
Katrina evacuees were the victims or suspects in 23 homicides between September and December, Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said this morning, doubling the department's earlier numbers on how many killings have been linked to people from Louisiana.
The 23 homicides account for nearly 20 percent of all homicides in the city during that period of time, according to Houston Police Department numbers. Citywide, the homicide rate rose 23 percent last year, with the largest increases in homicides coming at the end of the year.
The homicide increase has continued in January, Hurtt said. The city has had 21 homicides to date, compared with 14 between Jan. 1 and 18 last year.
"It's not a good way to start the year, but we are also living in a city of more than 2 million people," Hurtt said.
While homicides continue at a heightened level, Hurtt said the levels of other violent crimes such as robbery continue to be of major concern.
HPD will begin tracking whether Katrina evacuees are the victims or suspects in all crime, Hurtt said, in part, to help secure federal funds to pay for two overtime initiatives launched last year to target hotspots for criminal activity, particularly in the southwest.
Note that KHOU emphasized the homicide statistic, and what the city is doing about the spike in violent crime. The Chronicle emphasized Katrina evacuees and MayorWhiteChiefHurtt's efforts to turn them into a revenue stream of sorts (I'm not judging whether that's good or bad, just pointing out how well the story dovetails with the administration's efforts and perspective of late).
As Rorschach points out in the comments, the administration had once downplayed concerns of Katrina evacuees stretching thin police resources.
UPDATE: KPRC-2 leads with the crime statistics AND HPD's manpower shortage in their reporting:
A shortage of officers is not the only concern for the Houston Police Department as the number of homicides continues to rise, KPRC Local 2 reported Wednesday.
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said the city's homicide rate is up 50 percent in 2006 compared to the same time period last year. As of Jan. 17, 2006, Houston police had reported to 21 homicides. In 2005, the department reported 14 homicides as of Jan. 18.
UPDATE 2: KTRK-13 leads with the crime statistic:
We're just 18 days into 2006, and Houston's murder rate is skyrocketing. According to Chief Harold Hurtt, 21 homicides were reported in the first 17 days of the year. Last year during the same period, the total stood at 14. That's a 50 percent increase.
SUMMARY: Major news outlets in town other than the Chronicle emphasized the crime statistics themselves. The Chronicle emphasized the ties to Katrina, an angle that the White Administration has been pushing hard of late.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/18/06 12:52 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
31 January 2006
Acronyms and task forces can't mask manpower shortage
KHOU-11's Mike Zientek reports more disturbing news about HPD response times:
Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt answered questions from 11 News about the slow response time to a hotel shooting that ended with a man in the hospital.
"If there are some shortcomings on our part we're going to review it and make sure it doesn't happen again," Chief Hurtt told 11 News.
The 11 News crew beat police to the scene and emergency crews waited for nearly 30 minutes for any sign of HPD.
[snip]
But what might be troubling is that an HPD spokesperson said the department tries to respond to calls like the one at the hotel in 12 minutes at the most. That same spokesperson told 11 News it took a lot longer than that.
According to HPD’s own timeline, a dispatcher got the call at 6:24 a.m., made two requests for units and received no response.
At 6:40 a.m. a supervisor from the day shift left for the scene.
He arrived at 7:01 a.m., 37 minutes after dispatch received the call.
In fact it took so long that the 11 News photographer recorded firefighters putting up crime tape—not police.
“There should have been somebody on the air, somebody in the city of Houston to answer that call,” Chief Hurtt said. “It’s not routine for the city of Houston. This was an extraordinary incident, again we’re in the process of reviewing it. If there are some shortcomings on our part we’re going to review it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
IF there are shortcomings?
*ahem*
Chief, when KHOU reporters beat the cops to a shooting scene, and firefighters get so restless that THEY string police tape, it's safe to say there was a shortcoming on the part of your department!
Unfortunately, since HPD manpower is stretched thin because politicians have ignored the problem for so long, this is the sort of thing we can expect to happen.
Look for MayorWhiteChiefHurtt to announce a new acronym or task force to tackle this latest problem soon.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ Acronyms and task forces can't mask manpower shortage"> 01/31/06 07:03 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (4)
06 June 2006
Teen killed in broad daylight in Montrose-area park
KTRK-13 reports on a teenager who was beaten to death in broad daylight earlier in a Montrose-area park:
A teenage boy has been beaten and stabbed to death in a Houston park.
The 14-year-old was killed during a fight at Chew Park on Norfolk and Dunlavy Tuesday afternoon. He was reportedly hit in the head with a baseball bat and stabbed in the chest. The boy died at the scene.
Witnesses say three boys were playing basketball at the park when about 20 teens arrived and started attacking them with bats, tire irons and bricks. The attackers are apparently members of a rival gang, who claim the park as their territory.
Police say a 16-year-old girl with blond hair is considered a prime suspect. She reportedly stabbed the victim.
There were several witnesses to the attack, including a lifeguard at the adjacent public swimming pool. A police investigation is underway. No arrests have been made.
Additional coverage is available from KPRC-2, KHOU-11, and the Chronicle.
This is pretty shocking. It's not as if this is a bad neighborhood, and this park stays fairly busy (inner loop dog owners make use of it).
KHOU-11 posted an interesting, related story from Shern-Min Chow earlier today. Here's an excerpt:
Police are noticing more and more crimes of opportunity.
A woman was attacked at a gas station in the middle of the day Monday.
Police said the motive was robbery and these kinds of attacks are becoming all too common.
[snip]
Detective [Paul] Reese gives Ivette high marks for most of her response.
“She acted on her instincts. She could tell something was wrong, however she did go out to the parking lot.
“I got in my car and started chasing them. I called 911,” Garcia said.
That earned her a reprimand.
“Again, don’t try to take matters into your own hand,” said Det. Reese.
Well, what are people supposed to do?
Because of HPD's acute manpower shortage, there aren't enough cops on the street for people to rely on the city for public safety. The only help people seem to be getting from politicians is red-light-camera revenue streams (thanks, Mayor White, for nothing) and admissions that businesses should close down early in neighborhoods where crime is on the increase (thanks, Councilmember Khan, for nothing). And the police chief's Acronym Van doesn't seem to be much help either.
Honestly, what are people supposed to do?
UPDATE: Here's a nice headline from KHOU-11, covering a big event Mayor White held for the press:
Mayor takes action to rid city of dangerous neighborhood nuisances
You know what headlines I'd like to see?
Mayor takes action to rid city parks of murderers who beat teenagers to death
or
Mayor triples budget for HPD academies/recruitment, vows to get handle on surging crime
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/06/06 10:40 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (7)
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