KRIV-26’s Isiah Carey reports that the city’s new fiscal year began today, and that means the end of significant HPD overtime spending that helped mask the department’s ongoing understaffing issues:
And the head of the police union says it could also be the beginning of a crime wave. This comes after Houston city officials slashed $14 million dollars from HPD’s overtime budget. Houston Police Union President Gary Blankenship says the overtime dollars were used to fill the gaps on the streets.
In other words, Blankenship says we can expect more crime because there will be less of a police presence on the ground. He and other officers point to areas like downtown Houston where overtime dollars were used to patrol main streets and address the homeless issue.
Any surge in crime will be the next mayor’s problem (along with the staffing issues).
