Several “critical issues” in the Houston Police Department, including mismanagement by agency leaders and understaffing in key divisions, contributed to a scandal involving suspended investigations into criminal cases, an independent committee wrote in a report released Wednesday.
In the report, the five-member committee urged various improvements to the department, such as adopting a more standardized approach to case management across divisions, updating records management systems and hiring more civilian staffers.
“Addressing these problems is vital for boosting crime response and managing efficiency,” said Christina Nowak, a member of the committee who serves as the city’s deputy inspector general at the Office of Policing Reform and Accountability
The report, commissioned by Houston Mayor John Whitmire earlier this year, marks the end of the latest probe into city police classifying about 268,000 cases as suspended due to a lack of personnel. Then-Houston Police Chief Troy Finner resigned in May amid pressure stemming from the investigations.
[…]
Among the committee’s key findings:
- “Inconsistency in case management” practices and understaffing led to uneven usage of the code across divisions, affecting some more than others.
- The current records management system in operation at HPD is “inadequate” to meet demand.
- A shortage of civilian staff, who are often responsible for managing information and keeping in touch with crime victims, has contributed to operational inefficiencies.
- A “communication breakdown” between divisions and department leadership also drove the misuse of the code.
Whitmire pledged that the 88-page report would be a blueprint for change, saying several of the recommendations are already being implemented.
“This one will not collect dust,” said Whitmire, who took office in January. “It will sit on my desk and councilmembers’ desks.”
In a presentation to Houston City Council on Wednesday, Nowak said HPD’s data is scattered across multiple case management systems and often poorly kept. As a result, information is difficult to share, records contain incomplete or inaccurate information, and agency staff struggle to compare data because it’s not standardized.
Nowak added that investigative divisions operate with “near-total autonomy,” resulting in different ways of classifying cases.
The committee also found that officers haven’t received adequate training when it comes to when and how to classify cases, which led to the misclassification of thousands. About 8,800 cases were classified as non-criminal when they met the elements of a crime, the committee reported.
See here and here for some background. The report is here.
I don’t think there’s anything terribly new here. This reinforces my belief that this was a management problem first and foremost. It will cost some money to fix – better case management software, a lot of training to use it, redesigned processes, probably more civilian staff, etc – which is very much in line with what Mayor Whitmire wants to do anyway. What I want to go with that is some clear goals and metrics, to show us what that extra money is for and how effectively it’s being used, and consistent communication of how HPD is doing against those goals and metrics. This is Management 101 stuff. The moment is right for substantive changes to be made. We’ll see what we get. The Chron has more.