Houston police chief wants more cops even as crime dips

Police Chief Art Acevedo anticipates an intensified focus on gun and gang violence this year. That will include more data-driven police work, he said, as well as having more detectives working at night, when gang violence more often occurs. The city's murder total dropped 11 percent from 302 in 2016 to 269 in 2017.﻿ less Police Chief Art Acevedo anticipates an intensified focus on gun and gang violence this year. That will include more data-driven police work, he said, as well as having more detectives working at night, when ... more Photo: Jon Shapley, Staff Photographer Photo: Jon Shapley, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Houston police chief wants more cops even as crime dips 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Crime in Houston fell slightly in 2017 but police Chief Art Acevedo continues to lobby for hundreds of additional officers.

The city may need as many as 2,000 officers, he said this week, repeating calls from previous chiefs to grow the department's force.

And the chief again criticized Gov. Greg Abbott and other state officials, saying they make it difficult for cities to police and protect themselves by focusing on unnecessary legislation regarding immigration, gender issues and local control.

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"We're down to the lemon peel," said Acevedo, referring to staffing at the Houston Police Department. "That's what we're down to. I can't make lemonade from lemon peels."

Overall, crime in Houston was down by about 2 percent last year. The city tallied 33 fewer homicides - 269 - than the previous year. But the rate of sexual assaults and aggravated assaults rose by more than 10 percent each.

Police response times remained nearly identical for the most serious crimes, but they slipped more sharply for less-serious issues.

"The sad truth is, in a world of limited resources, we have to prioritize," Acevedo said.

The department has about 5,100 officers, about 300 more than a decade ago. But the department has 200 fewer officers than it had in 1997, when the city had 500,000 fewer residents, Acevedo said.

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Acevedo said Houston's Police Department was understaffed compared with departments in other large cities, and that it needed as many as 2,000 more officers.

"We can't continue to be the fastest growing big city in the country and not grow the police department," he said. "It just doesn't work."

The union has pressed city officials to increase the department's forces by 500 officers during the next five years, a move Mayor Sylvester Turner and others say they support.

But paying for that increase would be difficult, said Mike Knox, an at-large City Council member said.

"There's no question we need more police officers in Houston," Knox said. "The issue is going to be paying for it. And I'm afraid the mayor and chief are working together to make people believe removing the property tax revenue cap will solve that problem, and it will not."

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Curbing Houston's crime rate requires more money targeted at investigations and patrols - and avoiding unnecessary assignments, says Larry Karson, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston-Downtown.

"If you're putting the officers where they're really needed (and) working to attack violent crime the community is concerned about, the chief is right," Karson said.

Meanwhile, police -- through their union -- have complained that the department's reduced overtime budget has hurt their ability to solve cases.

"Cases are built over time. This is not CSI," said Doug Griffith, vice president of the Houston Police Officers' Union. "We can't solve a case in 15 minutes. It takes time, manpower, and it takes money. Two of those three, we don't have."

In 2016, the department had an operational overtime budget of about $18 million, he said. Now, it has $4 million for operational OT.

Acevedo also took time to address other issues.

On the long-running dispute between city and state officials over local control:

"We have the governor, who doesn't have to run a city, talking about further reducing the ability of cities to function and to be safe, by proposing a 2.5 percent (property tax growth) cap," Acevedo said. "It's pretty easy to do that when you're sitting at a capitol building and don't have to respond to crime scenes day in and day out."

On immigration:

The chief said that since Abbott signed SB 4 - the "show your papers" law - on May 7, the department recorded just two instances when officers asked people about their immigration status in non-arrest situations.

"For those who were afraid we were going to become immigration agents, the data speaks for itself," Acevedo said.

Acevedo has been a vocal opponent of the law that bans so-called sanctuary cities and that exposes local officials to criminal prosecution if they try to stop officers from asking about immigration status.

St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety and major breaking news for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to st.john.smith@chron.com.