The Chronicle today ran a front-page story by Matt Stiles on Chief Hurtt’s temporarily suspended chase policy. The headline at the top of the Chron.com page (and in the Chron email newsletter) reads as follows:
Funny, but quite a few people (other than our soft-on-crime police chief) think that nabbing criminals actually enhances public safety!
Stiles’ analysis of HPD chase data lends support to critics of Chief Hurtt’s policy:
Police Chief Harold Hurtt’s proposal, set for a hearing Monday at City Hall, would restrict his officers from engaging in lengthy pursuits when a fleeing motorist’s only known crime is a Class C misdemeanor, such as a traffic violation.
That was the reason officers gave for almost half the chases recorded in the past year and a half. Yet when those chases ended and suspects were questioned, 40 percent said they fled to avoid arrest for felonies, drug possession or driving while intoxicated, according to a department database obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
The statistics, detailing 1,045 chases since January 2005, could lend support to those who argue that pursuits are necessary to get wrongdoers off the streets — and that limiting them gives criminals a green light to bolt.
Previously, local media reported that the Houston Police Patrolmen’s Union recently took out several billboard advertisements warning visitors to Houston of the current crime situation. Anne Marie Kilday’s reporting for the Chronicle describes the billboards:
The billboards, which are being posted just outside the Houston city limits, state: “A rising crime rate, an undermanned police force, a dysfunctional dispatch center and a ‘no chase, no catch policy.’ Nowhere else but Houston.” The sign is billed as: “A public service announcement from the Houston Policeman Patrolmen’s Union.”
Johnnie McFarland, president of the HPPU, vigorously defended each point on the sign posted Friday. Three identical signs will be erected Monday, McFarland said.
Needless to say, the HPD brass wasn’t happy with the advertising.
City Council’s Public Safety Committee will hold hearings on Chief Hurtt’s temporarily suspended chase policy Monday morning. According to Stiles, Mayor White remains noncommittal on the policy. It seems strange for Houston’s mayor not to have an opinion on important matters of public safety.
RELATED COVERAGE: KTRK-13.
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