Whitmire, Police Chief Troy Finner and other city leaders spoke in a police department gymnasium, where a group of around 35 officers were reviewing incident reports, to give residents an inside look at what the department was doing to address the problem of the suspended incident reports, the mayor said.
“Houstonians need to know this is our highest priority,” Whitmire said.
Article continues below this ad
Since last week, detectives have made 750 visits to the homes of those who reported sexual assaults to the police department, Finner said. He cautioned that the officers who have been temporarily assigned to review incident reports all came from other investigative divisions, community services and elsewhere. None were reassigned from patrol.
“To would-be criminals, don’t think this is an opportunity to run ragged,” he said.
Finner announced on Feb. 22 that the police department was investigating thousands of sexual assault reports suspended using the code, “Suspended — Lack of Personnel.” He said he first learned about the code in 2021.
The next week, Finner announced the department’s internal probe had grown to include hundreds of thousands of cases from other divisions, including property crimes and major assaults, which had also used the code to suspend investigations.
Article continues below this ad
Finner and Whitmire said they weren’t going to provide many specific updates on the investigation since last week’s press conference, saying more would come once officers had a chance to review additional incident reports. Whitmire also declined an opportunity to say who had created the code in 2016 that allowed department officials to suspend cases citing a lack of personnel.
He had earlier referred to that person as “dumb,” and said they should have come to city and state leaders if lack of resources had been such a problem. Whitmire spoke of his time working on criminal justice issues in the Texas Senate, saying not one person brought the code to his attention.
The mayor also pushed back against tweets from Gov. Greg Abbott on the matter. In separate tweets over the last four days, the governor called for legislators to take action against against cities for suspending cases and argued they should be held “legally liable for this negligence.”
“I do recognize politics when I see it,” Whitmire said, adding that it’s a terrible time to politicize the issue. He said city politicians, Finner and police department administrators already recognize what a serious problem the code was and they’re working to address it.
Article continues below this ad
Both Finner and Whitmire, while acknowledging the code should have never been used, also said the department is facing a significant lack of resources.
Last week, the police chief said his department needs 2,000 more officers to patrol the city and properly investigate crimes, and noted that while the city’s population has continued to grow, the department’s staff levels have shrunk.
As of April 2023, the department had 342 fewer full-time equivalent officers than it had 25 years ago, according to police department data. The decrease coincided with a population surge in Houston, which drove the city’s resident-to-officer ratio up from 334 residents per officer to 461 during the past quarter-century.
More than 90% of the police budget goes to staffing, covering roughly 5,200 officers, 880 civilian support personnel and 140 cadets.
Article continues below this ad
Whitmire said he would consider “whatever was necessary” to bolster the number of employees in the police and fire departments. He mentioned seeking state and federal funding, while also adding that Houston residents know public safety is a problem and might be open to increasing the revenue cap for the police and fire departments.
The mayor said he hoped to see two-man patrol vehicles and a new unit dedicated to responding to reports of sexual assault one day.
Finner concluded the press conference by saying that he’d heard of other departments in the region and across the country reviewing their coding to make sure they aren’t doing something similar. If it stops one other department from using a similar code, that will be a positive, Finner said.
