This is interesting: the decision by MayorWhiteChiefHurtt to target apartment complexes in southwest Houston with an increased police presence has drawn criticism from Houston Police Officers Union President Hans Marticiuc:
Since late 2005, the leadership of the HPOU has been virtually ignored on nearly each and every personnel issue and concern that we have brought forward to Chief Hurtt.
On December 2, 2005, I put together a Management Competency survey for the membership, but had decided to stand down until the timing and the issues were the right ones.
The final straw came with management’s rush to implement this apartment homicide overtime program. The program’s complete exaggeration of urgency (for political purposes), has finally broke the camels back. We are not critical of the purpose of the overall plan, however, the process itself is rife with problems.
This unnecessary (other than for political purposes) timetable, with absolutely no consideration for the needs of the officers that have been ordered to work — no time to prepare or make arrangements for family matters, child care, and other personal business– demonstrates once again that this Chief and some Command Staff members are completely out of touch with the real world of policing and police officers.
The competency survey will be mailed out within the next day or so and I urge each and every one of you to respond and get it back to us within a timely manner.
We have wondered more than once about HPD’s leadership and it appears we aren’t the only ones. We have wondered about Chief Hurtt’s focus on Tasers and Taser cams, red light cameras, surveillance cameras, a public safety tax, shiny new badges, criminal jaywalkers, a (don’t say quota) productivity policy, and a civilian traffic patrol.
Everything it seems but more police officers, until the problem reached critical mass.
Well, HPD has issued a response to the HPOU:
The safety of the public is the Houston Police Department’s hghest [sic] priority. As such, HPD has continued to be responsive to public safety needs by constantly monitoring crime trends and distributing police resources to areas requiring immediate attention. It is no secret that homicide and violent crime issues have continued to be an area of concern for HPD and public at large [sic], particularly in the southwest area of Houston.
As an example, one police district, which has been targeted for additional deployment, has experienced 19 murders since January as compared to nine for the same period last year. The department cannot think of a matter more urgent than the loss of human life. It is our duty to act quickly and decisively to protect our citizens from the violent acts of others. We have responded with a measured, well-defined undercover and uniformed strategy to the complex and far-ranging crime problems in southwest Houston. More details regarding the department’s additional violent crime initiatives will be released early next week.
The Houston Police Officers Union doesn’t agree with the urgency on this issue and has announced that it plans to issue a management competency survey based on recent decisions by the department to implement several overtime initiatives.
That’s unfortunate, but HPD remains committed to the safety of the public as our No. 1 job.
We await the survey results.
FURTHER HPD READING: Police Story (Slampo)
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