Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said Monday that the Houston Police Department has suspended more than 260,000 criminal cases over the past eight years, citing the department’s “understaffing” regulations.
Finner initially revealed last week that 4,017 sexual assault charges had been administratively suspended due to “staffing shortages,” but a closer examination by the department revealed that this provision had been extended to all other departments in the department. is also found to be expanding, Finner said in an update Monday.
Finner said in a statement that since 2016, approximately 264,000 incident reports department-wide have been suspended with an “insufficient staffing” code, compared to 2.8 million incidents filed with the Houston Police Department over the past eight years. He said this accounts for about 10% of reports.
He said of the 264,000 calls, about 100,000 were property crimes.
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Houston Police Department Chief Troy Finner said Monday that the number of cases stopped due to “understaffing” provisions has grown to more than 264,000 across the department. (Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images, File)
Commissioner Finner said police are increasing efforts to review sexual assault incident reports and contact potential victims, and that additional personnel have been deployed to respond to incident reports involving crimes against others. He said he has been transferred to the investigation department.
Finner said last week that he ordered the department to stop using the code after first noticing that some sexual assault cases were being suspended in 2021 due to staffing shortages. FOX26 Houston reported. But despite the order, the code appeared to still be in use throughout the department, the chief said.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said his department investigates all affected sexual assault cases and strives to contact potential victims. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images, File)
“Am I proud of this? No, I’m angry, okay, because we know we’re better and we’re going to make it right. , because we’re going to make it right,” Finner told reporters last week, with the department adding: is still understaffed.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said last week that for the first time he noticed some sexual assault cases being suspended in 2021 due to staffing shortages. The department ordered the practice to end at the time, but it appeared to continue throughout the department. (Houston Police Department)
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Following Monday’s revelations, Houston Mayor John Whitmire expressed concern about the department’s cold case investigation.
“I am deeply concerned, this is unacceptable, and I have directed Secretary Finner to be transparent and continue to review this as a top priority,” the mayor said. “Public safety remains my top priority.”
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Finner said he would hold a press conference on the matter later this week.
