In Houston, Texas, the Houston Police Department (HPD) is grappling with a scandal involving 260,000 cases that were left uninvestigated, a problem that stretches back a decade.
In June 2014, a report presented to the Houston City Council and covered by Eyewitness News revealed that 20,000 crimes from the previous year had not been investigated due to insufficient staffing. These included a range of offenses such as burglaries, thefts, assaults, and hit-and-runs, some of which had workable leads.
Dr. Larry Hoover, a criminal justice expert, emphasized the urgency of addressing the situation during his presentation to council members.
Former council member Michael Kubosh expressed shock at the revelation, highlighting the potential consequences of criminals exploiting the situation.
Former police chief and council member C.O. Bradford condemned the lack of action, deeming it unacceptable and unconscionable.
The recommendation at the time was to increase staffing by hiring more patrol officers and 100 additional detectives. However, then-Chief Charles McClelland noted that even with more detectives, the department would still lack the capacity to handle the volume of cases.
Since then, HPD has seen changes in leadership, with Chief Troy Finner now facing scrutiny and calls for recusal from the ongoing investigation. Concerns linger regarding the extent of knowledge about the uninvestigated cases and their duration.
Mayor John Whitmire referenced McClelland’s remarks from 2014 during a recent discussion, indicating the longstanding nature of the issue.
Whitmire has established a five-person review committee, which convened publicly for the first time on Wednesday. Meanwhile, HPD continues its internal investigation.
Despite efforts to address the problem, HPD finds itself still contending with a decade-old challenge.
Whitmire expressed confidence in the current handling of the situation, but the investigation remains ongoing.
