In a front-page story for the Chronicle today, busy reporter Brad Olson took an in-depth look at FBI crime statistics and how Houston ranks among the largest 25 cities in the country.
The results, in terms of violent crime, aren’t good at all. Despite recent chirping from MayorWhiteChiefHurtt that crime numbers in Houston are astoundingly good (and getting better!), the reality as demonstrated by Olson’s analysis is that Houston is one of the most dangerous cities in the country. Indeed, Houston is ranked #8 nationwide in terms of violent crime per capita, and #1 in Texas.
Please go read Olson’s story in its entirety (as journalists who do that amount of research and analysis at least deserve a proper cite, link, and an “attaboy”), and also check out his accompanying blog post and the crime data he compiled.
We have long made our opinion on Houston crime and policing clear. We think HPD is understaffed, a problem that emerged under Mayor Lee Brown and that remains with us today. We also think HPD is poorly managed, and could benefit from adopting a management philosophy (CompStat) that not only makes wiser use of technology, but is also proactive, strategic, and proven.
We hope our current mayoral candidates will be addressing HPD and crimefighting in much greater detail over the coming weeks and months. Because Houston can be better than #8.
