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29 July 2009
Feds: Houston's crime rate is too low to qualify for COPS funding
KPRC-2 has Mayor White's reaction to the news that Houston is one of several major cities that will not be receiving federal Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) funding:
"This is the wrong decision for the wrong reasons," Houston Mayor Bill White said. "We were told that Houston did not receive funding because our city budget is not distressed and our crime rates have gone down to the lowest levels in decades. Cities should not be penalized for good law enforcement and sound financial practices."
Ironically, a couple of years ago, KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt caught HPD under-reporting crime statistics. Chief Hurtt was apoplectic when Greenblatt dared challenge HPD's numbers, but after a while, HPD began reclassifying some homicides as murders.
Who knows if the city's crime stats are accurate these days, but the Justice Department is using that criteria as one reason why Houston doesn't need extra COPS funding.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 07/29/09 04:48 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (14)
05 January 2009
Murders decline in 2008
KHOU-11's Jeff McShan reports that murders as reported by HPD declined in 2008:
In 2006, there were 376 homicides within the city limits. In 2007, the number dropped to 347, and in 2008, it dropped again to 292.
300+ murders was an outrage, so it's good that the city is now (barely) below that number.
That is, if we can trust the numbers reported by HPD. Recall that McShan's colleague Mark Greenblatt has exposed past misreporting of murders by HPD.
It will be interesting to see the overall crime numbers for 2008.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 01/05/09 10:35 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (0)
29 May 2008
KHOU checks in on HPD murder misreporting scandal
KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt checked in tonight with an update on HPD's underreporting of murders in recent years. Interestingly, the department has quietly reclassified some 16 incidents as murders since Greenblatt started reporting on the issue.
In some of the years in which murders were misreported, Houston -- not Dallas -- would have been the murder capital of Texas.
And what of Chief Hurtt's (or Chief Hurtt's ghostwriter's) recent editorializing? Somewhat misleading, according to Greenblatt:
Recently, a guest editorial in the Houston Chronicle called on HPD to have an independent, comprehensive audit of its crime statistics conducted.
HPD Chief Harold Hurtt responded with his own guest editorial, claiming the FBI has checked out and approved HPD’s records from 2007.
The only problem? Out of more than 200 thousand incidents that took place in Houston during 2007, the feds looked at just 277 records.
Further, Hurtt claimed to the Chronicle the State had conducted its own audits of HPD as well, writing: “In fact, the Texas Department of Public Safety has conducted several audits within our Records Division (2001, 2002, 2004 and 2007).”
But the Defenders called DPS to check on that statement. DPS spokeswoman Tela Mange said: “We have not done an audit of their uniform crime reporting program since the year 2000.”
11 News: “So the audits you have done have absolutely nothing to do with crime statistics?
DPS: “That is correct.”
DPS spokeswoman Mange went on to say that the only time DPS has audited Houston crime statistics was back in 1995. A different Houston police chief requested the audit back then. Mange said DPS cannot begin an audit on its own- stressing that HPD would have to request an audit for the process to begin.
So, we can't trust HPD's murder reporting under MayorWhiteChiefHurtt, and it seems we can't trust Chief Hurtt himself.
This further illustrates why we need the audit that Jay Wall and associates have suggested.
So, what's the over/under on the number of days before Chief Hurtt's ghostblogger tries to smear Greenblatt again?
Posted by Kevin Whited @ HPD murder misreporting scandal"> 05/29/08 10:46 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (11)
24 September 2009
KHOU's Greenblatt scores Emmy for stories on HPD homicide misreporting
KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt just won an Emmy for his investigative series on HPD's homicide misreporting.
Recall that city officials once tried to smear Greenblatt for his reporting, before conceding his points.
Congratulations to Greenblatt for a job well done! The KHOU-11 press release is below.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ Greenblatt scores Emmy for stories on HPD homicide misreporting"> 09/24/09 09:55 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (1)
03 June 2007
Montalvo strikes again!
KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt reports on the latest gaffe by HPD's frequently entertaining assistant police chief Martha Montalvo:
So what did HPD have to say [about crime reporting questions]? They said they are doing everything correctly, because they have been checked out by outside agencies.
And that’s not all.
11 News: “Has the FBI audited you?”
HPD Asst. Chief Martha Montalvo: “I believe the last time I was told we were audited was is in 2001, and I believe 2006 or 2007; the early part of 2007.”
In fact, city police also claimed in a statement that, “HPD ... passes frequent audits by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their … crime reporting procedures.”
So everything must be OK, right?
Wrong. An e-mail from the FBI to 11 News said HPD’s claims about those audits is “incorrect.”
11 News: “How do you explain if the FBI says that’s not true?”
MM: “I have no explanation for that. That’s what I was told.”
And what about HPD’S other claims?
“We’ve been audited by DPS in 2004, 2001, 2002,” Asst. Chief Montalvo had said at a public meeting.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said in the last six years they have done zero audits of HPD.
But 11 News Investigates has discovered that the Houston Police Department may have an even bigger problem on their hands: Experts say the very way the department gathers and counts many crime stats is all wrong and may be giving Houstonians a false picture of just how safe the city is.
Whoops!
There's more in Greenblatt's reporting on the controversy over HPD's crime statistics reporting.
HPD pushed back hard after Greenblatt's original reports a few weeks ago, but it would seem Greenblatt is sticking by his reporting.
It might be nice to hear from Chief Hurtt on the matter, but we suspect he was probably hard to reach in Arizona this weekend (even though he wants some local reporters to know he REALLY LOVES Houston).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 06/03/07 09:48 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (3)
08 September 2008
KHOU reports on CompStat; critics continue to mischaracterize
Last week, KHOU-11 ran a story by Christine Haas that featured Jay Wall, a CompStat advocate and HPD critic whose arguments should be familiar to readers here:
1) HPD's misleading murder reporting (documented well by KHOU's Mark Greenblatt) casts doubt on HPD's leadership generally.
2) CompStat is a proven management tool that could be used to good effect in Houston, especially given HPD's reduced manpower.
3) HPD's "Real Time Crime Information Center" is not "CompStat on Steroids" (as HPD and City officials allege from time to time, mistakenly), since it is reactive and is an information resource, not a comprehensive, proactive crimefighting/management tool (like CompStat).
The Haas story dealt with all three themes, albeit with varying degrees of success:
1) HPD's misreporting of crime statistics is only referenced in passing. Viewers/readers unfamiliar with Mark Greenblatt's reporting probably won't understand why this is an important issue -- or even that it is an issue.
2) The management tool point is only made in passing, and the point is not well developed. The fact is, the combination of accountability AND proactive crime targeting/prevention are reasons why CompStat has seen success elsewhere (and occasional grumbling from entrenched people who feel threatened by change). The smarter use of crimefighting resources would seem to be a no-brainer here, because of the manpower shortage.
3) Opponents of CompStat are either intentionally or ignorantly trying to portray the Real Time Crime Information Center as something it is not -- an alternative to CompStat. CompStat is a management approach to fighting crime. HPD's Real Time Crime Information Center is an information tool at best (and there are questions about its robustness). When the police union president compares the two in this story, he appears to be advancing the MayorWhiteChiefHurtt PR/political line -- but the comparison isn't accurate. And it was probably confusing for viewers.
This story appears to have suffered from trying to be overly ambitious and cover too much. If area journalists tackle these important topics in the future (especially points 2 and 3, since Greenblatt has done some good reporting on 1), it might be nice to see points 2 and 3 above treated in some depth -- with more expert commentary on the success of CompStat where it has been tried, and more expert commentary on the differences between CompStat and the Real Time Crime Information Center. We certainly hope that CompStat gets a fairer hearing from the city's next mayor (and, hopefully, a new police chief who understands CompStat), whoever that turns out to be.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/08/08 01:11 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
21 November 2007
Chief Hurtt refuses to answer questions about homicide stats (updated!)
It looks as if KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt struck a nerve with his story about HPD fudging homicide numbers. As reported by Matt Stiles and Mark Greenblatt, Chief Hurtt held a press conference yesterday to refute KHOU's report:
Using strong language, Hurtt challenged the story and defended his department, saying his employees follow FBI guidelines while classifying homicides in public crime statistics. Hurtt said the story didn't distinguish between the various types of homicide. Some are justifiable, he said, or caused by accidents or negligence, and therefore not "murders" under the FBI's terms.
"That the news report failed to make this distinction grossly misinforms and fails to properly educate the public," he said.
That's from Matt Stiles on the City Hall blog. As Greenblatt notes, though, experts guided him in determining different types of homicide:
Chief Hurtt called 11 News’ report on hidden homicides, "inaccurate and misleading."
He wanted to make sure 11news understood this: that a homicide at the Medical Examiner's Office really means one human being has killed another. Not all deaths ruled a homicide there should be reported as a murder according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting rules. For instance, justifiable homicides such as a person shooting a burglar are excluded from the reporting requirements.
It's something KHOU already knew. It's also why we asked two expert criminologists ( Dr. James Fox and Dr. Lawrence Sherman) to review cases and help Channel 11 rule out any deaths that should not have been reported, long before we broadcast our first report.
And then Chief Hurtt did something that is just inexcusable -- he exited the room without answering questions, and left his subordinates to take the heat:
I was hoping an exchange between the chief and KHOU's reporter, Mark Greenblatt, might help clarify the issue. But Hurtt left without answering questions. (I asked why, and Hurtt's spokesman, Capt. Bruce Williams, actually said, "You'd have to ask him that.") Nonetheless, Greenblatt got to pepper the department's chief homicide investigator, Capt. Steve Jett, with some questions.
Maybe he had to pack for Thanksgiving weekend in Arizona. Who knows? But it's outrageous that the chief refused to deal with questions surrounding some very serious findings. Homicide numbers are an integral measure of how a police department is doing its job, and the chief, after mustering up all the righteous indignation he could, refused to answer questions about some very serious allegations.
So Capt. Steve Jett was left to deal with the mess that has been created under Chief Hurtt's watch. When Greenblatt asked about the case of a man who was shot in the back of the head, and was classified as a suicide by HPD, here's the response:
11 News: The medical examiner ruled it was scientifically impossible for Steven McCoy to kill himself. What's your response?
Captain Steve Jett: “I don't necessarily agree with that. We've had differences of opinions before.”
Medical Examiner spokesperson Beverly Begay notes the M.E. stands behind its ruling.
Further, they tell 11 News the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office is one of the few offices in the nation to hold two of the most prestigious accreditations in forensic pathology. Begay also notes more than one forensic pathologist reviewed McCoy’s autopsy before coding it a homicide.
So we asked HPD homicide Captain Steve Jett if he still thought McCoy really shot himself.
“It's unusual. Very unusual. But it does happen,” said Jett.
As Stiles noted, Greenblatt has five Edward R. Murrow awards. Chief Hurtt and HPD will have to do better if they have any hopes of putting a dent in this story.
Thankfully for MayorWhiteChiefHurtt, the Thanksgiving weekend is upon us, and with it folks will turn their attention to other things.
They hope.
UPDATE: On his blog, Chief Hurtt responds to a commenter, and leaves us all in suspense:
Anonymous said...
What do you think about channel 11's report on HPD covering up the murder rate?You'll hear more about that next week. -- Chief Hurtt
Ooooo! Next week. Stay tuned!
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 11/21/07 05:18 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (25)
21 December 2007
KHOU: HPD is "quietly" reclassifying some homicides
Today, KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt uncovers more on the problem HPD has had counting homicides correctly:
On Feb. 13, 2006, a fire deliberately started by someone burned through some East Houston apartments and boarding homes.
Joseph Chryar was trapped inside, and he would never make it out. His family said the truth hasn’t either.
“Of course I feel it is a cover-up,” father Joseph Chryar Sr. said. And he said it involves the Houston Police Department.
“It felt like they were trying to sweep it under the rug,” he said.
Early on, an autopsy by the Harris County Medical Examiner ruled Chryar’s death a homicide. But HPD labeled his death “dead man” and left it that way - never finding the criminal with the affinity for flame.
“It hurts me,” Chryar Sr. said. “It hurts me very deeply, because somebody needs to pay for this.”
[snip]
But now, the Defenders have discovered a quiet reversal by the Department.
Just recently, HPD took six deaths that had been off the books and reclassified them as murder. They reported those murders to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI as part of their official Uniform Crime Report numbers.
The cases? Victims: Joe Green, Charles Arterburn, Henry Rusk, Augustin Canales, Xavier Hegwood and — Joseph Chryar.
Greenblatt points out another disturbing consequence of HPD's number-fudging:
the Defenders have discovered another injustice: By not labeling victims like McCoy as a homicide, HPD can actually punish his family further, along all the other families of similar victims in Houston.
The reason? It all has to do with access to something called the Crime Victims’ compensation fund.
“By golly, if criminals have rights, crime victims have rights too,” Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said.
Abbott speaks plainly.
“We obviously want to get resources and get help to crime victims as quickly as possible,” he said.
Abbott’s office offers crime victims’ families financial help for burial services and more through something called the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund- but not until a crime is declared.
“Once it’s established that the injury or death was because of a crime, then they are invited to apply to our crime victims’ compensation fund,” Abbott said.
But in the case the Defenders found, victims’ families couldn’t get that help because HPD hadn’t labeled their loved ones’ death a crime — leaving them out in the cold.
Remember, Chief Hurtt blasted Greenblatt's initial reporting, then outrageously refused to answer any questions about the story. Now it appears Chief Hurtt's arrogance is coming back to bite him, as his department faces a little media sunshine.
HPD needs to make it a priority to reexamine the cases Greenblatt uncovered. The victims' families need closure, and if they are owed some financial assistance, they need to be able to collect it. And Mayor White and Chief Hurtt owe all these families an apology.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ HPD is "quietly" reclassifying some homicides"> 12/21/07 08:00 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (6)
29 November 2007
When you lose Mrs. White...
Yesterday, Mrs. White surprised us with criticism of HPD's murder reporting (as first reported by KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt).
As Greenblatt now reports, Mayor White has taken the lead after Chief Hurtt's poor handling of the situation:
And now, the Mayor's on the defensive.
“There's not been an intentional effort to hide data,” said White.
Intentional or not, the mayor is admitting to potential problems in at least six homicides the 11 News Defenders uncovered.
“Based off some of the issues you've raised… I think there's going be a lot more discipline in the way the reports are handled,” said White.
And in a major about face, the city’s finally admitting to problems in HPD’s investigation of Stephen McCoy's death that after being shot in the chest three times and then in the back of the head, police labeled a suicide even though the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide.
But now?
11 News: The investigation's now back open?
“Yes,” said White. “My take is: It was a murder and then it was ruled a suicide. And I'm asking (HPD) to take a new look at this case.”
That's quite a rebuke from the Mayor for his bungling police chief, considering that Chief Hurtt refused to take questions on the matter before Thanksgiving (in fairness, he might have had a plane to Phoenix to catch); and after Thanksgiving HPD merely took to repeating talking points that called Greenblatt's reporting "inaccurate and misleading." So much for Chief Hurtt's ghostblogger's effort to smear an award-winning reporter.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/29/07 10:35 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
04 May 2007
KHOU reports on problems with HPD crime reporting
KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt has broken an important story on problems with HPD's crime reporting.
Here are some excerpts (although the story should really be read in its entirety):
Is the Houston Police Department telling you the truth about crime in our city?
A six-month 11 News investigation reveals that the answer is no.
And some experts are now saying the problems 11 News Investigates uncovered at the department are as bad as the Houston Crime Lab.
[snip]
So what’s going on?
Well police everywhere compile and keep statistics to help them fight crime.
What arrests are up and which are down and where to help them keep you safe. But 11 News has discovered the Houston Police Department has gotten things so mixed up for so long that they may actually be putting you in danger.
“It looks worse than the Houston Crime Lab,” said renowned criminologist Dr. James Fox.
11 News shared what we found with him, and he’s worried.
“You can’t trust the accuracy,” he said.
Because he sees big problems in HPD’s crime reporting.
“It really is giving an impression of the situation in Houston that is wrong,” Dr. Fox said.
Greenblatt goes into much more detail on the discrepancies he found. The response from Assistant Police Chief Charles McClelland was, to put it mildly, unimpressive.
We look forward to hearing what Chief Hurtt has to say, but of course it's the weekend, and he has no doubt headed off to his home in Arizona. Maybe next week someone can track him down for comment.
UPDATE (05-05-2007): HPD sent out a press release (which a reader was kind enough to forward) on Greenblatt's story. It's reproduced below:
Posted by Kevin Whited @ HPD crime reporting"> 05/04/07 11:42 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (8)
26 November 2007
Chief Hurtt blasts "inaccurate and misleading" report
Last week, Chief Hurtt's blog promised to address Mark Greenblatt's KHOU-11 report criticizing HPD's refusal to classify some deaths as murders.
Today, Chief Hurtt's blog repeated the HPD PR talking points that Greenblatt's reporting was "inaccurate and misleading" and complained that Greenblatt failed to go into a lengthy discussion of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting protocol.
Unfortunately, Chief Hurtt's blog failed to address any of the specific cases discussed in Greenblatt's reporting.
However, HPD last week conceded that at least one case should have been classified as a murder:
We also asked about other homicide cases like a 2006 arson fire on Delmar Street in East Houston, the day before Valentine’s Day.
Joseph Chryar died in that fire. The Houston Fire Department’s conclusion?
HFD Arson Chief Roy Paul: “I know this fire's a homicide. And it should have been reported as a murder.”
11 News: Your response?
HPD Captain Jett: “You're exactly right. Chryar's death should have been ruled a murder."
It's the first homicide the Department is admitting to making a mistake with and to leaving it off last year's report.
Apparently that aspect of the investigation by KHOU's award-winning reporter was neither inaccurate nor misleading!
Greenblatt also is reporting that HPD has changed its internal process for reviewing and classifying homicides:
The Houston Police Department announced internal changes to how it will review and report homicides in Houston. That announcement came Tuesday, less than 24 hours after an 11 News investigation exposed the department has been keeping many homicides off the books.
Do most city departments change procedures in response to "inaccurate and misleading" criticism by journalists? Just wondering.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 11/26/07 10:37 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
24 April 2008
KTRK: How accurate are HPD's crime stats?
KTRK-13's Tom Abrahams reports that there are more problems with reporting of crime statistics at HPD:
How safe is your neighborhood? You might not be getting the whole story from police, when it comes to certain types of crimes that are going on.
Eyewitness News has spent five months looking into the way the Houston Police Department codes and reports crimes. We asked for an explanation to what we found a week ago, and sent the department copies of what we found. As of tonight we've not gotten any explanation, though the chief did talk about the issue in general.
On a stretch of road a year ago, Houston Police Officer Eric Dargin is accused of stopping a woman and then sexually assaulting her. He's charged with the crime. Prosecutors say they have DNA evidence. His next court date is in June.
But if you check HPD's crime statistics, you won't find his case listed at all. You also won't find at least six other sexual assault cases in which the suspect was charged. And there are another eight listed as less violent crimes, calling into question the legitimacy of HPD's reported crime statistics.
[snip]
Eyewitness News also found 20 charged aggravated assaults that HPD coded as lesser crimes. While coding a crime is not a science, there are the Uniform Crime Reporting guidelines, called UCR, which tell officers to code the most serious crime if more than one is committed.
Are they always doing that? Is the reporting consistent? Without HPD statisticians answering our questions about specific cases, it's hard to know.
Here is Chief Hurtt's response to Abrahams' questions about the coding problems:
HPD Chief Harold Hurtt said, "(They're) as reliable as human beings are, I guess."
That's as helpful as ever. Thanks Chief Hurtt!
When KHOU-11's award-winning reporter Mark Greenblatt reported last year that HPD was underreporting murders, the response from Chief Hurtt (and his ghostblogger) was underwhelming, to say the least.
Maybe this time around, HPD will actually try to figure out these reporting problems, and will get the local media some answers. We do look forward to hearing from Chief Hurtt's ghostblogger, though (and maybe even Martha Montalvo, who is always entertaining!).
Posted by Kevin Whited @ HPD's crime stats?"> 04/24/08 11:12 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (1)
20 October 2008
Local reporters win Lone Star Emmys
The Lone Star Emmys were announced over the weekend, and Mark Greenblatt was honored for his outstanding reporting on HPD, "Hiding Homicide."
Recall that Chief Hurtt's ghost blogger(s) tried to smear Greenblatt and his reporting on this topic. Apparently, professionals in journalism felt differently about it.
Other local award winners (as per the Lone Star Emmy site) are posted below. Congrats to all!
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 10/20/08 10:06 PM | Houston Media | Technorati | Comments (1)
20 November 2007
KHOU: HPD is undercounting homicides
This is a stunning discovery by KHOU-11's Mark Greenblatt:
In murder after murder and case after case, KHOU has discovered the Houston Police Department has found ways to wipe homicides off the books.
They don’t report them for Uniform Crime Report purposes.
The result?
An undercounting of how many murders take place in Houston, leaving some cases un-investigated and even possible murderers walking our streets.
“Cases that are clear cut homicides are not being counted,” said Dr. James Fox, a professor of criminology at Northeastern University.
He has gained worldwide attention for his expertise in homicide cases. Further, the U.S. Department of Justice trusts him to maintain a federal database on homicides.
11 News: Do you believe the City of Houston is lying to the public?
Fox: “Well someone is. Someone knows because someone is making these calls.”
What’s he talking about?
In 2006, HPD reported 377 murders to the FBI, and 334 in 2005.
But over that same time period, 11 News found nearly 30 homicides left off the books that experts say should have been counted.
Further, dozens more remain in question after HPD would not release case files to KHOU to review.
And if the Department had reported just two of many 2005 homicides we found?
It would have changed Houston’s national murder rate ranking, moving Houston past Dallas as the murder capital of Texas and into second place in the nation for cities with a population larger than 1 million.
Further, Fox says police undercounting might have lead to another serious consequence.
“Well a crime was committed and someone is not being charged with that crime,” he said.
A murderer is walking around, free to kill again. And HPD's response?
We're told the department won’t allow a single person out of their 6,000 employees to go on camera and explain its decisions.
That includes police Chief Harold Hurtt, who formally declined our repeated requests to talk.
HPD did issue a written statement, which says in part:
"We are in the process of looking into the cases you have brought to our attention.”
Wow.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ HPD is undercounting homicides"> 11/20/07 09:08 AM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (12)
18 May 2008
Helfman, et al., call for audit of HPD crime reporting
In their latest op-ed on Houston crime, Alan Helfman, Jay Wall, and Bill Wolff call for an audit of HPD's crime reporting.
They make a persuasive case:
What is the true state of crime in Houston? Unfortunately, neither we nor the leaders of HPD know for sure. Basic answers to basic questions are impossible to ascertain with any degree of certainty.
Perhaps the most striking example of this was provided in the recent news stories surrounding HPD's crime counting methods. Just before ThanksgivingIn late November 2007 [sic], KHOU's (Channel 11) Mark Greenblatt revealed that HPD underreported murders in both 2005 and 2006. In perhaps the most egregious case to date, the HPD classified the death of Stephen McCoy, who suffered three gunshot wounds to the chest and one to the back of the head, as a "suicide."
Other homicides, in one instance two deaths indisputably by arson, were put into the limbo category of "under investigation." Cases "under investigation" (as to cause of death) may not be classified as murders.
Thus far, due largely to Greenblatt's prodding, six Houston cases "under investigation" have recently been reclassified as murder by HPD.Far from the norm, miscounting murders is significantly more than just a disagreement about interpreting facts or applying rules. Dr. Lawrence Sherman, dean of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania has said, "There is something fundamentally wrong with the practices of the HPD in keeping count of its homicides. There appears to be a clear undercounting."
Other nationally recognized experts agree. Dr. James Fox, professor of law, policy and society at Northeastern University in Boston, a visiting fellow with the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the Department of Justice and the man USA Today described as "arguably the nation's foremost criminologist," was asked directly if he thought the city of Houston was lying about its homicide statistics. He answered: "Well, someone is. Cases that are clear-cut homicides are not being counted."
Yet the beat goes on: The above example of McCoy's death has still not been reclassified to murder, only moved from the category of suicide to "under investigation."
Six cases may not seem like very many, a statistical blip easily repaired. But murder has long been considered a unique bellwether crime because, as Jack Maple, the late crime-fighter who organized CompStat under William J. Bratton in the NYPD once stated, "there are no secret police cemeteries" in which to hide the bodies.
Yet, now we find that in Houston, at least, such a place actually does exist, constructed out of paper much like the Potemkin villages that so pleased the Russian czar.
And the "sharp pencils" that Bratton so loathed were not confined only to the homicide squad. Examples of failures to properly count crimes in other categories abound. Year after year, HPD reported zero (as in none) cases of embezzlement; other recent press reports detailed the use of multiple sets of books to count DWI arrests.
[snip]
Were such similar, repeated and blatant errors committed in a publicly held corporation, the fallout would be swift and painful.
Please click over and read their op-ed in its entirety.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ HPD crime reporting"> 05/18/08 09:18 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (24)
03 January 2008
Mayor White is now ready to focus on crime
In his final two years as mayor, Bill White says he'll make crime reduction a priority:
On the other hand though, the Mayor said more work needs to be done, and one area of concern is property crimes, which have been on the rise in Houston in recent months.
"As of said on a number of occasions this last year, it's too high, we want to see that number drop," White said. "When we have the Real Time Crime Center up that will help us track those serial burglars, plus we’re doing some other things, number one of which is just getting more people in the field."
Real Time Crime Center? How does it compare to CompStat, which other large cities have used very effectively to help reduce crime, and which Chief Hurtt has refused to consider?
"We've made some real progress in Houston, Texas. And then when you compare the homicide rate per 100-thousand in Houston now, compared to where it was 15 or 16 years ago, it's a small fraction as to where it was," the Mayor said Thursday.
That was this week's other big news -- the city's murder rate for 2007, which the city says is down from 2006, if you trust HPD's numbers. HPD has just been caught fudging the official stats in previous years, so who knows if the numbers released this week are accurate. Maybe Mark Greenblatt's looking into it.
Over at Lose an Eye, Cory Crow makes an excellent point about the murder rate:
If you were to "draw a line" through 2006, writing off the large increase in murders during 2006 as a "one off" event sparked by the confusion surrounding the influx of a criminal element from New Orleans (Not to be confused with the 'normal folks' who were displaced by Katrina mind you) then you'd see that the "murder rate" in Houston is actually still on the uptick (albeit slight), and the only reason the numbers appear lower is due to the fact that 2006 was exceptionally high.
And, again, we've just learned HPD has problems accurately counting murders; the numbers could still increase as HPD admits:
Authorities warn that Houstonians shouldn't get too excited about the unofficial tally.
As cases are reviewed, the numbers will likely increase.
"There are delayed deaths and delays in rulings," Jett said. "In the case of an arson death, it may take six months for it to be ruled a homicide. Infant deaths are the same way."
The problems Mark Greenblatt uncovered, though, were not related to delays in rulings.
And then there's the whole issue of population numbers. It would be helpful if the story disclosed the source the city is using.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 01/03/08 08:26 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Comments (13)
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