Tag Archives: crime

Crime continues to decline in Houston

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. Don’t let it get in the way of any campaigns. Houston was part of a nationwide decline in most crime statistics in major cities, leading one crime data analyst to say the trend shows that it … Continue reading →

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Coronavirus and crime

Posted on April 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

It’s down around the country. Turns out having everyone stay inside has a salutary effect, for the most part. Crime rates plunged in cities and counties across the U.S. over the second half of March as the coronavirus pandemic drove … Continue reading →

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Curfew changes

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

A good step, but I agree with the argument that it doesn’t go far enough. City council on Wednesday eliminated Houston’s daytime juvenile curfew, but stopped short of ditching the ordinance altogether despite pleas from advocacy groups who say the … Continue reading →

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No, crime is not up in Houston

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Facts are stubborn things. Like the rest of the country, crime in Houston has plummeted over the last 30 years, as has residents’ fear of crime being the city’s most pressing problem. FBI data show that most categories of crime … Continue reading →

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HPD and Ring

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have a Ring doorbell so this doesn’t affect me, but I do find it quite interesting. The Houston Police Department announced Monday that it is joining Ring’s mobile app, Neighbors, in a move officials hope will reduce crime … Continue reading →

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How many crimes does your police department solve?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Fewer than you think, unfortunately. Violent crime in America has been falling for two decades. That’s the good news. The bad news is, when crimes occur, they mostly go unpunished. In fact, for most major crimes, police don’t even make … Continue reading →

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McClelland’s response

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have to say, I’m not impressed. Defending his department’s failure to investigate thousands of crimes last year, Police Chief Charles McClelland on Thursday said the understaffed Houston Police Department does not and should not have a goal of aggressively … Continue reading →

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Those uninvestigated criminal cases

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

To say the least, this is big news. The Houston Police Department, already reeling from a scandal involving shoddy work in its homicide unit, was dealt another blow Monday when a report revealed that some 20,000 burglary, theft, assault and … Continue reading →

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On pot and prosecutions

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’ve heard about President Obama’s remarks that marijuana isn’t really more harmful than alcohol. There’s plenty of evidence to back that assertion, but Harris County DA Devon Anderson strongly disagreed with him anyway. President Barack Obama’s recently published … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick is lying about immigration and crime

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s what the headline to Peggy Fikac’s column should be, but she took the easy way out. At a forum where statewide candidates strutted their stuff for leading business groups, Sen. Dan Patrick could have focused on pretty much any … Continue reading →

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Bite marks

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Grits reminds us that not all forensic science is scientific. I ran across an interesting article documenting critiques of forensic dentistry. In it, bite mark expert Dr. Gregory Golden: concedes that there’s little scientific research to back claims from forensic … Continue reading →

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We must destroy the pensions in order to save them

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s so much wrong with this I almost don’t know where to begin. Houston is the Titanic – it certainly looks impressive, but icebergs lie ahead. That’s the image that mayoral candidate Ben Hall drew when he talked to the … Continue reading →

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If we need more courts, we should ask for more courts

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure why there hasn’t been more of a push to deal with this. As Harris County’s population continues to swell, more people means more crimes. And that results in more work for the county’s 22 felony courts. But … Continue reading →

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Overview on criminal justice legislation from the regular session

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I tried to pay attention to as many issues as I could during the legislative session, but no one can keep track of it all. Criminal justice bills were one area that I lagged on. Fortunately, there are people like … Continue reading →

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I got those empty prison cell blues

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a lot of excess prison capacity around the state, which is a big problem for a lot of communities that once thought building prisons, to be operated by private entities, would be a boon for them. Just over a … Continue reading →

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HPD braces for cuts

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

More than $15 million is going to be cut from HPD’s budget, in part to lost red light camera revenue and in part to the overall budget picture. The equivalent of more than 100 civilian jobs, including temporary workers, will … Continue reading →

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We’re #1 in misleading rankings on annoying lists

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So what else is new? Mayor Annise Parker lashed out at an controversial annual study released Monday that placed Houston among the most dangerous cities in the United States with a population of 500,000 or higher. “Crime Rankings 2010-2011,” published … Continue reading →

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Perry’s border shenanigans

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an election year, and that means it’s time once again for Rick Perry to pay attention to Texas’ border communities, by which I mean “grandstand about drug violence”. I recommend you read these BOR posts for a sense of … Continue reading →

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What Katrina crime wave?

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So remember how there was this big increase in crime in Houston in the months after Katrina evacuees arrived here? Well, it turns out that the crime data indicates otherwise. Five criminologists who reviewed crime statistics published a study in … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Parker’s first ad

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And Annise Parker wins the race to be the first candidate not named Peter Brown to air a TV ad in the Mayor’s race. Here it is: And my reaction is…eh. That’s more about me than anything else, as public … Continue reading →

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Locke’s crimefighting plan

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the past week or so I’ve had several Mayoral candidate issue papers hit my inbox. As there was one from each campaign, I thought I’d try to do a little analysis of each of them. We’ll start today with … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Tweet it! The cops!

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

New frontiers in social networking and law enforcement. Milwaukee’s department is one of a growing number of police and fire agencies turning to social networking Web sites such as Twitter, which lets users send text-message “tweets” to a mass audience … Continue reading →

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Busy day yesterday

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

There were a lot of bills passed yesterday by one chamber or the other. My mailbox is full of press releases touting them. I’m going to go ahead and print them beneath the fold as a roundup. A few bills … Continue reading →

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Matt Baker indicted

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If you read the Texas Monthly cover story from last March about Waco pastor Matt Baker, who has been accused of killing his wife Kari, whose death had originally been ruled a suicide, you will be interested to hear that … Continue reading →

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Won’t somebody please think of the mollusks?

Posted on April 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Oyster offenders, long a scourge of the Texas criminal justice system, may have finally met their match in the Senate. A cautiously hopeful populace waits with, um, baited breath.

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City scores another SOB victory

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That makes two, and counting. Houston won a major victory Thursday in its efforts to stamp out sex-related businesses that operate near neighborhoods or turn a blind eye to criminal activity in their facilities. The city won a unanimous verdict … Continue reading →

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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 →

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On DNA testing and innocence

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to hear that District Attorney Pat Lykos is going to examine cases of wrongful conviction in Harris County. I’m sure there are plenty more than the five she plans to highlight, but the fact that she wants to … Continue reading →

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Let’s see those files

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good thing. Working to make good on a campaign promise, recently elected Harris County District Attorney Patricia Lykos agreed on Monday to provide copies of police offense reports to criminal defense lawyers, changing the longstanding practice of … Continue reading →

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The Riddler goes on a rampage

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer looks at a trio of bills by Rep. Debbie Riddle in which she tries to solve the immigration issue all by herself. Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, is launching a three-pronged attack on non-citizens this session. Prong 1: Hook … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Ed Gonzalez kickoff event

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Ed Gonzalez will have a campaign kickoff event for District H next Wednesday, February 11, at Irma’s Restaurant downtown from 5:30 to 7 PM. You can get all the details here (PDF). We’re rapidly approaching the filing deadline for the … Continue reading →

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