Tag Archives: HPD

Parker taps McClelland as HPD Chief

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Mayor Annise Parker officially named veteran police administrator Charles A. McClelland Houston’s new police chief today, citing his long service and leadership skills. McClelland, 55, has served as acting chief of the Houston Police Department since the retirement … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Parker to name new HPD Chief tomorrow

Posted on March 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mayor Parker to Name Her Choice for Police Chief Who: Mayor Annise Parker What: Announcement of Mayor Parker’s nomination for Houston Police Chief When: Wednesday, March 31, immediately following City Council meeting Where: Proclamation Room, 3rd Floor, … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Parker to name new HPD Chief tomorrow

The forensics backlog

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I was going to blog about this Chron story regarding a backlog in fingerprint analyses for the HPD Crime Lab, but Grits said most of what I was going to say, so just go read him. The key, I think, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The forensics backlog

SWAT team

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure about this. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is starting an elite “high-risk” squad with the aim of developing it into a full-fledged SWAT team. Maj. Bob Doguim began soliciting applications for the eight-member team two weeks ago, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hail to the (interim) Chief

Posted on January 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As expected, HPD Chief Harold Hurtt has quietly slipped out the door in advance of Mayor-Elect Annise Parker taking the reins of the city. Until she names his replacement, here’s who will fill in. Executive Assistant Chief C.A. McClelland will … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hail to the (interim) Chief

Parker’s police plan in practice

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I think we’re all reasonably familiar with the basics of Mayor-Elect Parker’s plan for the police force, which includes more and better coordination between the various local law enforcement agencies. This story, which perhaps ought to have been run before … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Parker’s police plan in practice

Search for the Chief

Posted on December 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

More speculation about who will replace Harold Hurtt as HPD chief. Gary Blankinship, president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union, and other officers said they’ve heard Timothy N. Oettmeier, 57, Vicki L. King, 48, and Kirk A. Munden, 49, all … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Search for the Chief

Chief Hurtt to step down

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We all knew this was coming. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt is planning to resign at the end of the year, two days before Mayor-elect Annise Parker takes office. Hurtt, who has been Houston police chief for almost six years, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mayor Parker hits the ground running

Posted on December 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor-Elect Annise Parker talks to the Chron and tells us again what she intends to do after she’s sworn in. “One of the reasons I’m not having that big, excited, happy feeling is that there is a lot of work … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mayor Parker hits the ground running

Fingerprint problems

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Lovely. An audit of the Houston Police Department’s fingerprinting comparison unit revealed so many problems that investigators will be reviewing all violent crime cases for the past six years, officials said Tuesday. Major problems in the Latent Prints Comparison Unit … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Fingerprint problems

Red light camera amnesty

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Got a red light camera ticket that you haven’t paid? Want to get it taken care of but fear there may be consequences for having waited so long? Well, now’s your chance to do it, as HPD has announced a … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Lawsuit filed over dog scent evidence

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Three men have filed a federal lawsuit against Fort Bend Deputy Keith Pikett and his use of “evidence” gathered by scent dogs, which they say led to them being falsely accused of and imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Mayorals on public safety

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Reading this story about the Mayoral candidates and their public safety plans, I have the same questions that I’ve had from the beginning. How do they plan to pay for the things they want to do? Hiring more officers, obviously, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Mayorals on public safety

Change in course on 287 (g)

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron notes a change in course on how the city wants to deal with undocumented immigrants. Mayor Bill White is distancing himself from a controversial federal program that trains local law enforcement to identify suspected illegal immigrants, saying this … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Rick Rodriguez

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today’s interview subject is Rick Rodriguez, who is running in At Large #1. Rodriguez is a 24-year veteran of HPD, where he has worked in a variety of divisions and units, and is now in the Criminal Intelligence Division. He … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Parker’s education plan

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Next up for review we have Annise Parker’s education plan. I should note that while the press release about this plan came out last week, a lot of the ideas within the plan have been on the table for awhile. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How you gonna pay for those new cops?

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron asks a reasonable question about the promises being made by the Mayoral candidates to hire more police officers. The deep fiscal slowdown facing the city will make it difficult to fund more police academy classes, a factor that … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How you gonna pay for those new cops?

Warrants

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of people out there have outstanding warrants. Nearly 2 million warrants worth more than $340 million are outstanding in the Houston area, and in most cases they’re not for hard-core criminals. They’re for average residents who haven’t settled minor … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Parker’s crimefighting plan

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Tis the season for Mayoral candidates to send out position papers on various issues. I’ve gotten a couple in my mailbox in the past few days and want to spend a little time examining them. First up is Annise Parker’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Cops and crime

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The news is mixed, though I see it as being presented as more bad than good. Houston has a higher rate of violent crime than any other Texas city and ranks among the highest in the nation, according to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

City or county?

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Like Nancy Sims, I was at the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce candidate forum yesterday morning. And like Nancy, I thought this bit was one of the more interesting parts of the debate. Several questions focused on city finances and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with CO Bradford

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Next up in the interview series is C.O. “Brad” Bradford, who is running for At Large #4, currently held by the term-limited Ronald Green. Bradford was the Democratic candidate for Harris County District Attorney last year, and though he lost … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Not everybody isn’t hiring, Part Deux

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Bad economic times are good times for Texas prisons to fill their vacancies. Texas has just 1,262 correctional officer jobs now open, compared with more than 3,700 openings just over a year ago. Officials say more people have become guards … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another Mayoral wants Hurtt out

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just Roy, so it’s not like this materially affects Chief Harold Hurtt’s status, but still. “We want police officers to stay,” said Harris County Department of Education Trustee Roy Morales, one of five candidates who talked about crime and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Parker wants to boot Hurtt

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And the Mayoral campaign just got a little more interesting. Mayoral candidate Annise Parker has plans get rid of Police Chief Harold Hurtt if she’s elected. “I will replace the police chief. I think he’s ineffective,” Parker told the Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mattress Mack is watching you

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Be sure to smile for the cameras if you visit the Westchase District. A West Houston nonprofit group on Tuesday applied for city permission to install the first of a dozen security cameras it plans to purchase to reduce crime … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HPOU wants to get into the immigration business

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I really don’t know why it is that the Houston Police Officers Union has decided it wants HPD to be different from every other urban police force in the state and start questioning residents about their immigration status. The reasons … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on HPOU wants to get into the immigration business

Paying for rape kits

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I missed this last week, and reading it now I’m one part outraged and one part puzzled. Victims of sexual assault are getting bills, rejection letters and pushy calls from bill collectors while a state crime victims’ fund sits full … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Candidate interview: Ed Gonzalez

Posted on April 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And with the announcement of early voting locations and times, and the realization that early voting is three weeks away, I bring you the last of my interviews with candidates in the District H special election. Today’s subject is Ed … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Candidate interview: Ed Gonzalez

Two immigration stories

Posted on April 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Perry writes a letter to the Department of Homeland Security. Perry asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week to take a series of steps to improve information-sharing between federal, state and local law enforcement. The Homeland Security-related issues … Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Two immigration stories

Regional crime lab

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This has been talked about for some time, and not unexpectedly it’s starting to move forward. After years of scandal at crime labs across the state, local officials have proposed opening a regional lab based at the Harris County Medical … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Your eyes may deceive you

Posted on March 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron covers a report by the Justice Project about faulty eyewitness testimony and the many wrongful convictions to which it has led. Most wrongful convictions in Texas stem from mistaken eyewitness identifications, errors that experts say could have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Not everybody isn’t hiring

Posted on March 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The downturn in the economy has created an opportunity for the Houston Police Department to bolster its ranks. A year ago, the Houston Police Department could barely muster enough recruits to fill a 70-seat academy class. Now with 1,000 applicants … Continue reading →

Posted in Bidness | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

CSI: Needs Improvement

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Gil Grissom got out at just the right time. Crime labs nationwide must be overhauled to prevent the types of mistakes that put innocent people in prison and leave criminals out on the street, researchers have concluded. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Technology, science, and math | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on CSI: Needs Improvement