Houston police unveil crime prevention campaign with new policy focus - Chron.com

• 

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

Image 1of/3

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 3

The city will focus on four goals in this year's campaign, including helping low-level nonviolent offenders get the treatment they need.

The city will focus on four goals in this year's campaign, including helping low-level nonviolent offenders get the treatment they need.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff

Image 2 of 3

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo (middle left) and Mayor Sylvester Turner (middle right) hold a city proclamation declaring the March on Crime, a citywide crime prevention campaign. The two are joined by at-large City Councilman Mike Knox (left) and District A Councilwoman Brenda Stardig (right). less

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo (middle left) and Mayor Sylvester Turner (middle right) hold a city proclamation declaring the March on Crime, a citywide crime prevention campaign. The two are joined by ... more

Photo: Samantha Ketterer, Houston Chronicle

Image 3 of 3

Houston police unveil crime prevention campaign with new policy focus

Back to Gallery

The Houston Police Department's annual crime reduction campaign has shifted much of its focus this year to changes in higher-level policy, following years of using the effort to tackle crime trends and public awareness issues, such as pedestrian safety and car burglary prevention.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo on Monday highlighted four goals in this year's March on Crime campaign, and just one of those focused on the direct prevention of crime. One other goal involves police staffing and the other two would require changes in prosecution tactics, partially contingent on cooperation with state legislators and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

The campaign’s goals this year are to make better decisions on setting bail for repeat offenders and to better utilize resources in an understaffed police department. The other two goals are to prevent violent crime and to help low-level, nonviolent offenders with mental illnesses get the treatment they need.

This year’s more policy-driven campaign falls in step with issues that Acevedo has pushed since he took his post in 2016, including a continuously mentioned stance on tougher bail sentencing in the county. Acevedo has worked the topic into many news conferences of late, pushing the idea that low bail amounts often result in offenders being released and committing more, and sometimes increasingly violent, crimes.

“We’re going to continue to work on bond issues for violent offenders,” Acevedo said. “Too often, the bonds are so low they’re actually going out and creating a lot more havoc on our community.”

Another goal, to be well-equipped to respond to crime in an understaffed department, circled back to Acevedo’s continued calls for hundreds of additional officers. Acevedo said in late January that the city may need as many as 2,000 more officers, and city leaders since have pledged to grow the Houston Police Department ranks by 500 officers over the next five years.

The department has about 5,100 officers, about 300 more than a decade ago.

“I think we can all agree that HPD is understaffed,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at the Monday news conference.

Efforts to prevent violent crime through the campaign also will result in more detectives working homicide scenes and more officers working overnight, when shootings are occurring, Acevedo said.

Efforts to prevent violent crime will include a heavier focus on domestic and sexual assault, including keeping firearms out of the hands of abusers, Acevedo said. With help from the Harris County District Attorney's office, domestic and sexual assault offenders soon could face a zero-tolerance policy and go to jail immediately, the chief said.

The police department also is hoping to find diversion programs for low-level criminal offenders who have mental illnesses, Acevedo said. Instead of going to jail, the department is looking for a facility where they can instead send offenders to get treatment, he said.

The March on Crime, a month-long campaign to highlight goals in crime reduction, was started in 1984 by leaders in the African-American community and spread citywide by 1991.

A positive campaign is only possible through positive community and police relationships, Turner said.

“No one group can do it alone,” Turner said Monday. “Neighbors need to help neighbors. Communities need to work with HPD and in turn HPD needs to work with those in our community.”

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read Full Original Content Houston police unveil crime prevention campaign with new policy focus - Chron.com : http://ift.tt/2FhgXA4

Bagikan Berita Ini