The quarter of a million "shelved" crimes HPD admitted to.

[trymahjong]

I thought there would be more push back ( maybe even street protests) to the 4000 Rape cases HPD shelved.  Was the number of Murder cases shelved ever mentioned? What was public's reaction to that?

[hbg.50]

2 hours ago, trymahjong said:

I thought there would be more push back ( maybe even street protests) to the 4000 Rape cases HPD shelved.  Was the number of Murder cases shelved ever mentioned? What was public's reaction to that?

Right.  If murder cases were shelved that would be a huge story.

Quote

"We’ve also identified 6,537 incident reports assigned to the homicide," he said. "The majority of those incidents were reported assaults and threats before 2018, when major assault units was within the homicide division."

 It seems the focus is on the sexual assault cases. 

Quote

Houston police have gone through 3,010 out of over 4,000 suspended sexual assault cases as of Thursday morning, according to Chief Troy Finner.

This includes having attempted to contact the victim, schedule, and follow-up interviews. So far, investigators have scheduled 133 interviews. Finner added that they are also focusing on family violence incident reports, and are in the process of contacting those victims.

"For those adult crimes and violence victims that we could not contact by phone, text or email, beginning last Thursday we sent more than 100 officers from our differential response teams and our community affairs to attempt to locate those victims at the last known address," he said. He added that as of Thursday morning, they have made 698 visits.

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/police/2024/03/07/480038/houston-police-have-gone-through-3000-of-over-4000-suspended-sex-assault-cases/

[editor]

I'm curious to know if these crimes ended up in the standardized crime reports that are sent to the FBI for statistical purposes, or if they were left out.

If they were left out, we need to know the real crime rates in Houston with these "shelved" crimes included.

[Blue Dogs]

7 hours ago, trymahjong said:

I thought there would be more push back ( maybe even street protests) to the 4000 Rape cases HPD shelved.  Was the number of Murder cases shelved ever mentioned? What was public's reaction to that?

How long before Whitmire fires Finner ?

[trymahjong]

Is this the only update?

[trymahjong]

https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/police/2024/04/09/482951/forensic-review-of-suspended-sex-assault-reports-finds-links-to-other-cases-houston-police-chief-says/

[trymahjong]

[trymahjong]

I saw the Fox News report on Chief Finners news conference concerning the rapes this morning.

a reporter pointed out that =>we're not talking about vagrancy, BMV, or robbery..... there was DNA evidence....still got shelved......how does that happen?

Finner replied... We're all frustrated ......not enough police for a city this size

I got Deja vu

that response was so  similar to the the responses I received 2hen I began trying to raise awareness at COH 

Honestly, I had wrote to my District C, and all the at large .....when I did get a response- it was so mealy mouth everyone else? Crickets!

Honestly- no outrage - no brainstorming -no potential problem solving solutions.

Just how long will all the muckity-mucks keep shielding themselves behind =>not enough cops on the street? Geez I've been hearing that for 20 years now- surely there is solution.

 

[ehbowen]

1 hour ago, trymahjong said:

I saw the Fox News report on Chief Finners news conference concerning the rapes this morning.

a reporter pointed out that =>we're not talking about vagrancy, BMV, or robbery..... there was DNA evidence....still got shelved......how does that happen?

Finner replied... We're all frustrated ......not enough police for a city this size

I got Deja vu

that response was so  similar to the the responses I received 2hen I began trying to raise awareness at COH 

Honestly, I had wrote to my District C, and all the at large .....when I did get a response- it was so mealy mouth everyone else? Crickets!

Honestly- no outrage - no brainstorming -no potential problem solving solutions.

Just how long will all the muckity-mucks keep shielding themselves behind =>not enough cops on the street? Geez I've been hearing that for 20 years now- surely there is solution.

 

Just keep in mind that if they ever solve the crime problem, they won't have grounds to go back and demand more tax money for more police.

Same with schools.

Same with highways.

Rinse and repeat as needed.

[trymahjong]

Geez

I am gobsmacked at that notion

[hbg.50]

22 hours ago, ehbowen said:

Just keep in mind that if they ever solve the crime problem, they won't have grounds to go back and demand more tax money for more police.

Same with schools.

Same with highways.

Rinse and repeat as needed.

Can’t the same be said for finding a cure for cancer?

It’s a cynical mentality…

[Ross]

22 hours ago, ehbowen said:

Just keep in mind that if they ever solve the crime problem, they won't have grounds to go back and demand more tax money for more police.

Same with schools.

Same with highways.

Rinse and repeat as needed.

Are you saying we don't need to pay any taxes? That crimes will magically solve themselves?

Houston is short of about 1,000 police. Adding that many would cost $100 million per year. Currently, the HPD and HFD budgets exceed property tax collections by over $200 million and firefighters are going to be entitled to over a billion dollars from the contract settlement. The City has a revenue cap that limits increases in property tax collections to the lower of 4% or the combination of population increase and inflation. Unless you think there is a few hundred million dollars the City can cut from the non-public safety portions of the budget, there will have to be a tax increase to increase the number of police and to pay for the HFD pay raises and back pay.

[trymahjong]

I know it must be a mega-odious option but why is it no one ever brings up a sale tax?
not a huge increase, perhaps a fraction of a penny.

why do I go there you ask?

I'm stuck in a mindset that increasing my already high property tax, might get me more police (but HPD has always been 1uick to point out HPD police response is gauged towards the # of calls made from certain part of town-HPD/PIP is always telling me Montrose residents don't make a huge number of those calls)

but will not get me a 

=>better street outside my house

=>closing the open ditch drainage next to my crap  sidewalks,

=>Replacements for crumbling curbs, not to mention the need for more handicap cut outs at  street intersections in my neighborhood of aging residents

=>more water pressure, from the remaining 100 + years old pipes

=>better garbage and recycle pick up

 

that just the start- geez, if it wasn't for my great neighbors and the opportunity to live the myth of the Montrose-- those property taxes would drive you out of town🫤😶🧐😵‍💫

 

 

[Ross]

1 hour ago, trymahjong said:

I know it must be a mega-odious option but why is it no one ever brings up a sale tax?
not a huge increase, perhaps a fraction of a penny.

why do I go there you ask?

I'm stuck in a mindset that increasing my already high property tax, might get me more police (but HPD has always been 1uick to point out HPD police response is gauged towards the # of calls made from certain part of town-HPD/PIP is always telling me Montrose residents don't make a huge number of those calls)

but will not get me a 

=>better street outside my house

=>closing the open ditch drainage next to my crap  sidewalks,

=>Replacements for crumbling curbs, not to mention the need for more handicap cut outs at  street intersections in my neighborhood of aging residents

=>more water pressure, from the remaining 100 + years old pipes

=>better garbage and recycle pick up

 

that just the start- geez, if it wasn't for my great neighbors and the opportunity to live the myth of the Montrose-- those property taxes would drive you out of town🫤😶🧐😵‍💫

 

 

The 1% sales tax that Houston gets is budgeted to raise $865 million. That tax it at the maximum allowed by state law, so it's not going up.

We will probably see a garbage fee sometime in the near future. If it's like Dallas, that will be $35 per month. The tax money for solid waste now is $20 per month.

Water delivery is not covered by property or sales taxes, that's an enterprise fund with its own budget.

[ehbowen]

On 4/13/2024 at 9:52 AM, Ross said:

Are you saying we don't need to pay any taxes? That crimes will magically solve themselves?

Houston is short of about 1,000 police. Adding that many would cost $100 million per year. Currently, the HPD and HFD budgets exceed property tax collections by over $200 million and firefighters are going to be entitled to over a billion dollars from the contract settlement. The City has a revenue cap that limits increases in property tax collections to the lower of 4% or the combination of population increase and inflation. Unless you think there is a few hundred million dollars the City can cut from the non-public safety portions of the budget, there will have to be a tax increase to increase the number of police and to pay for the HFD pay raises and back pay.

No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that as long as we reward inefficiency and ineffectiveness with more tax funds, we'll get more inefficiency and more ineffectiveness. I'm saying that we need to revoke all civil service protections and make any pensions contingent upon results and performance. Return to the mindset of the 1950s, when the objective was to keep taxes down and give the citizens the maximum bang for their buck.

[trymahjong]

Okay here goes.......

 

I'm posting the CWPIP meeting.

I think this is how accountability might start. You go to one of these hosted community meetings. You look around but noone looks familiar. The room will be full of blue uniforms. You notice, there is no section of the meeting labeled Q&A, instead, you are told when the meeting is over, you are to find your local HPD and. Ask questions " one on one. "You aren't really there for the chosen topic, that will be presented. 

Instead you quietly stand and raise a hand, you reasonably address the Houston Chief of Police, Identify yourself and ask what happened to allow 4,000+- rape cases to be shelved. You respectably, ask that the number of cops on street was the exact reason-- you explain that 20 years is enough for that remain the reason --- change is needed and change is needed now.

I will stand up and support you.

Ill post in announcements  also.

[Ross]

11 hours ago, ehbowen said:

No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that as long as we reward inefficiency and ineffectiveness with more tax funds, we'll get more inefficiency and more ineffectiveness. I'm saying that we need to revoke all civil service protections and make any pensions contingent upon results and performance. Return to the mindset of the 1950s, when the objective was to keep taxes down and give the citizens the maximum bang for their buck.

The mindset of police in the 1950's was to beat up Blacks and blame them for every crime.

HPD is very short of officers. Hiring an officer costs about $100,000 per year all in, so hiring 1,000 more is another $100 million.

Protections for police and fire pensions are enshrined in State law, they aren't going anywhere.

How would you measure police performance while not providing incentives for them to game the system?

[trymahjong]

I wonder what % of HPD officers engage in non beat cop/ patrol cop duties?  Could a different set of people do those jobs? A different set, vetted, set; that was trained for that sort of duty....routing calls? Answering telephone, filing, directing parking lots exits? Monitoring continuous public TIRZ meetings? We've all seen those officers. ....could that new set of people perhaps with a salary, compared to new teacher position, or just 30% of a new officer....is that something that might work?

So from someone from the outside looking in-- my quasi qualified opinion came up with....   🧐 A 3 able bodies for the price of one officer.......maybe money found thru grants or even corporations.....does any of that sort of pie-in-the-sky/outside-of-the-box sort of thinking ever take place? Does any brain storming to find a useful solution ever go on over at COH and HPD? All that talk from Mayor Whitmire of finding extra men to assist HPD sounded plausible; is that suggestion viable? Is there a certain specific  position at COH/HPD dedicated to  actual intelligent thought to finding a solution to so few officers in such a big city?  Just wondering.........

Edited April 16 by trymahjong

[editor]

11 minutes ago, trymahjong said:

I wonder what % of HPD officers engage in non beat cop/ patrol cop duties? 

It's an interesting question.  I can't speak for the specific roles you mention, but I do know that HPD does have a number of civilian employees who work behind the scenes.  I'm friends with one of them, and while we don't talk about his work as much as we used to, my impression is that there are quite a few non-officers who do the administrative work.

[cspwal]

I can't find the article, but I do remember reading that one of the reasons that response times were slow is a lot of HPD are on "special teams" e.g. drug task forces

Found the quote after some digging 

Quote

“Our problem isn’t that we don’t have enough officers in patrol — we don’t have enough running calls for service in patrol,” [Houston Police Officers Union president] Griffith said. “You have specialized units, you have crime suppression teams. Those are guys that do not run calls for service.”

 

 

This article is from last year https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/houston-police-response-times-18091539.php 

[Ross]

11 hours ago, trymahjong said:

I wonder what % of HPD officers engage in non beat cop/ patrol cop duties?  Could a different set of people do those jobs? A different set, vetted, set; that was trained for that sort of duty....routing calls? Answering telephone, filing, directing parking lots exits? Monitoring continuous public TIRZ meetings? We've all seen those officers. ....could that new set of people perhaps with a salary, compared to new teacher position, or just 30% of a new officer....is that something that might work?

So from someone from the outside looking in-- my quasi qualified opinion came up with....   🧐 A 3 able bodies for the price of one officer.......maybe money found thru grants or even corporations.....does any of that sort of pie-in-the-sky/outside-of-the-box sort of thinking ever take place? Does any brain storming to find a useful solution ever go on over at COH and HPD? All that talk from Mayor Whitmire of finding extra men to assist HPD sounded plausible; is that suggestion viable? Is there a certain specific  position at COH/HPD dedicated to  actual intelligent thought to finding a solution to so few officers in such a big city?  Just wondering.........

2023 Chronicle article on police staffing and some of the issues https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-s-1b-police-budget-won-t-fill-staff-18108477.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vcG9saXRpY3MvaG91c3Rvbi9hcnRpY2xlL2hvdXN0b24tcy0xYi1wb2xpY2UtYnVkZ2V0LXdvbi10LWZpbGwtc3RhZmYtMTgxMDg0NzcucGhw&time=MTcxMzMxNTI5MDc2OQ%3D%3D&rid=NDhhN2ZkODktOTA0Ny00ZjM0LWEyNjgtNThhNWNkY2RlZjY3&sharecount=MA%3D%3D

Detailed FY2024 HPD budget is here https://www.houstontx.gov/budget/24budadopt/III_HPD.pdf

The budget shows 2875 patrol officers and 1357 investigators. If you assume the patrol officers are split into 7 shifts to provide 24/7 coverage, that means that at any given time there are about 400 officers on the street to patrol 600+ square miles. The real solution is to hire 1,000 or more new officers.

[Blue Dogs]

On 4/16/2024 at 8:01 PM, Ross said:

2023 Chronicle article on police staffing and some of the issues https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/houston/article/houston-s-1b-police-budget-won-t-fill-staff-18108477.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c3RvbmNocm9uaWNsZS5jb20vcG9saXRpY3MvaG91c3Rvbi9hcnRpY2xlL2hvdXN0b24tcy0xYi1wb2xpY2UtYnVkZ2V0LXdvbi10LWZpbGwtc3RhZmYtMTgxMDg0NzcucGhw&time=MTcxMzMxNTI5MDc2OQ%3D%3D&rid=NDhhN2ZkODktOTA0Ny00ZjM0LWEyNjgtNThhNWNkY2RlZjY3&sharecount=MA%3D%3D

Detailed FY2024 HPD budget is here https://www.houstontx.gov/budget/24budadopt/III_HPD.pdf

The budget shows 2875 patrol officers and 1357 investigators. If you assume the patrol officers are split into 7 shifts to provide 24/7 coverage, that means that at any given time there are about 400 officers on the street to patrol 600+ square miles. The real solution is to hire 1,000 or more new officers.

Why do I get the feeling that Finner will NOT survive this scandal ?

[Ross]

6 hours ago, Blue Dogs said:

Why do I get the feeling that Finner will NOT survive this scandal ?

The Admiral Byng of HPD? Something about "to encourage the others"?

[hbg.50]

7 hours ago, Blue Dogs said:

Why do I get the feeling that Finner will NOT survive this scandal ?

I like Finner.  He inherited this mess and should not take the fall for it.  The question is can Finner cooperate with all the other law enforcement agencies to create an effective coverage plan.  Whitmire is big on sharing resources throughout the area.

On the number of police officers he said this during the campaign...

Does that mean in your mind that what is not necessary is hiring more officers?

No, we’re about 2,000 officers short. And this is kind of a substitute for lack of recruiting, we need to recruit, recruit and recruit capable, qualified, diverse language skilled HPD officers. And I’ll play a role in that. I will not hesitate to go to high schools or our community college, or I’ll reach out to the correction officers across the state. We have 15,000 correction officers across the state. You think I can’t recruit 500 of them that would consider a career as an HPD officer? You just have to make these things priorities, and we’re not doing it currently.

[trymahjong]

I think I still have a lot of questions

 

 

CitizensNet Newsletter: PUBLIC SAFETY & HOMELAND SECURITY | 04-19-2024

 

Police Chief Finner Provides Latest Update on Suspended Incident Reports Review

I have said from the beginning that we will keep our community updated throughout this extensive process of reviewing 4,017 adult sexual assault incident reports and 264,000 department-wide incident reports suspended with a code of “lack of personnel” dating back to 2016.

Effective today, our investigators and officers have reviewed all 4,017 incident reports with an adult sex crime nexus. Of those, 3,462 have been cleared, suspended or inactivated, mostly due to no additional leads. The remaining reports are being investigated. Any incident will be reopened should a complainant contact us and provide additional information or evidence. 

In our last update, we announced we learned there were 95 incident reports located with DNA profiles collected that resulted in profile matches (hits) with individuals in the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Following a review of those 95 incidents, it was learned one of the incidents did not involve a CODIS hit. This was verified by the Houston Forensic Science Center. Investigators are actively following up on the now updated 94 reports. We have determined that 14 of those hits match profiles of 14 suspects currently incarcerated for separate crimes. Our follow-up investigations are underway on those individuals. CODIS profile matches are evidence, but not necessarily proof an individual committed a crime. 

Most important, we remain laser-focused on providing trauma-informed services to any sexual assault survivors and are prioritizing family violence and crimes against persons reports. All 807 incident reports initially located with a family violence nexus have been reviewed, with 551 of them found to fit criteria for being cleared, inactivated or suspended. We are following up on the other 250 incidents to determine how many require follow-up investigations.

In the first eight weeks of our review of the 264,000 incident reports, nearly 92,000 have been reviewed, more than 1/3 of all reports. Of those 92,000, we have determined about 1/3 of them (30,000) were properly suspended, but should have used a code other than the lack of personnel. That means one of every three reports we are reviewing was correctly suspended, but with the wrong code.

Through this review, investigators have had a total of 34 charges filed on 27 suspects. Some are for violent crimes such as aggravated assault, while most are charged with misdemeanors. 

This is what progress looks like. We are learning from any past mistakes in our case management and review protocols and making corrections as this review process continues. Our communications with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Houston Forensic Science Center have improved, with frequent meetings being held to discuss best avenues in seeking justice for any survivors and complainants. 

Through the efforts of personnel on-duty and on extra shifts, working seven days a week, we are reviewing about 10,000 reports per week. 

As I’ve said, HPD will be a better police department when this review process and follow-up investigations are completed. We cannot rush the review process, but our community should know we are making steady progress.

 

[trymahjong]

4,017 - Total of sex crime reports reviewed.

399 - Number of forensic interviews scheduled with survivors.

1,767 - Officer visits to last known address of victims.

91,824 reviewed of 264,000 - Department-wide incident reports reviewed.

1/3 - Reports that have been reviewed within eight weeks.

3,462 - cases that have been cleared, suspended or inactivated, mostly due to no additional leads.

“The remaining reports are being investigated. Any incident will be reopened should a complainant contact us and provide additional information or evidence,” Finner said.
 

 

That very last thing made my stomach sink.....what would  it take out of a person, who had suffered the trauma of enduring rape, realizing HPD had shelved that complaint, understood that after " investigation" HPD had closed it, then finally knowing it would would be up to the victim to get it up and going again.

[Ross]

16 minutes ago, trymahjong said:

 

4,017 - Total of sex crime reports reviewed.

399 - Number of forensic interviews scheduled with survivors.

1,767 - Officer visits to last known address of victims.

91,824 reviewed of 264,000 - Department-wide incident reports reviewed.

1/3 - Reports that have been reviewed within eight weeks.

3,462 - cases that have been cleared, suspended or inactivated, mostly due to no additional leads.

“The remaining reports are being investigated. Any incident will be reopened should a complainant contact us and provide additional information or evidence,” Finner said.
 

 

That very last thing made my stomach sink.....what would  it take out of a person, who had suffered the trauma of enduring rape, realizing HPD had shelved that complaint, understood that after " investigation" HPD had closed it, then finally knowing it would would be up to the victim to get it up and going again.

I think all of the sex crimes have been investigated to the extent possible. If HPD cannot find the victim, there's not much they can do unless the victim contacts them. That's just the reality of crime investigation. It's like when there are shots fired and people on Nextdoor are asking why HPD isn't doing anything, it's because without any sort of video or other evidence, there is nothing the police can do except take a report.

[hbg.50]

On 4/18/2024 at 12:51 PM, Blue Dogs said:

Why do I get the feeling that Finner will NOT survive this scandal ?

Finner retains widespread council support

Most of the council members who spoke with the Chronicle said they were confident that Finner could adequately handle the police investigation into the suspended cases while also continuing to serve as the police chief. 

Several said that while Finner had been the one to break the news, he was not the one who created the “SL” code issue, which predated his tenure as chief by some five years.

“I don't believe this started with him, but I do believe from what we have seen thus far he is committed to ending it,” Kamin said.

And since the scandal broke, members say Finner has been forthcoming with new information and updates about the investigation’s progress.

“We just have to give him time to make it right,” Council Member Tarsha Jackson said.

However, the only elected official with any say in whether Finner stays or goes is Whitmire.

The mayor has formed a five-member committee that he’s tasked with independently looking into the suspended incident reports — in addition to the police investigation that Finner announced would end in late April. Council Member Amy Peck says she believes both Finner and Whitmire, by kicking off these two reviews, are taking the necessary steps to address the issue and to ensure it does not happen again.

“I'm really eager to see what that independent board’s report is going to show because I feel like there's still a lot more information to get from this,” Peck said.

WHITMIRE’S HPD COMMITTEE: Mayor Whitmire gives details on committee investigating more than 264K dropped Houston police cases

Not every member is unwavering in their support of Finner. Council Member Julian Ramirez, a former Harris County assistant district attorney who helped train police officers at the academy, said that while he respects Finner, he wants to let the facts of the mayor’s independent investigation color any decision-making around Finner’s professional fate.

“Personally, I like Chief Finner, but you know, obviously, personal feelings should not enter into a decision whether to keep someone on when a big mistake has been made,” Ramirez said.