Prosecutors have filed over 175 felony charges as the Houston Police Department (HPD) concludes its review of more than 264,000 cases suspended due to staffing shortages. HPD leaders aim to complete the process by early 2025.
The scandal, first revealed to the public earlier this year, exposed “systemic failures” stemming from the use of a code to track cases unresolved due to a lack of personnel. The fallout included the retirement of former Chief Troy Finner and the removal of several high-ranking officials. The code, created in 2016, came under scrutiny in a final report that detailed its misuse.
Case Review Status
Of the cases reviewed:
- 71,800 were suspended again.
- 13,000 were inactivated.
- 13,800 were closed.
- Only 7,900 were cleared.
Officials distinguish suspended cases from those marked “SL” (Suspended-Lack of Personnel), noting that suspended cases include arrests and those with no viable leads. Despite this, it remains unclear how much the department’s practices have changed.
Former HPD Planning Director Diana Poor expressed skepticism, citing a recurring cycle: “They’ll shift resources from patrol to investigations, then back again, creating a constant Band-Aid effect.”
Current Progress
As of November 15, HPD had reviewed 94% of the 264,000 cases, averaging 4,800 cases per week. Most divisions—such as homicide, vehicular crimes, auto theft, and special victims—have completed their reviews. Remaining cases are in major assaults, family violence, property crimes, and financial crimes.
In addition to the felony charges, prosecutors filed 86 misdemeanor charges, according to HPD spokesperson Shay Awosiyan.
Systemic Challenges
Poor acknowledged some recent changes, such as the creation of a family violence-specific division in response to rising domestic violence cases. However, she warned that without addressing staffing levels, the department risks repeating past failures.
Key issues include:
- Insufficient staffing: HPD’s current 5,200 officers and 900 civilians fall short of the estimated 7,200 officers needed. Poor suggested a more realistic goal of 6,000 officers and 1,500–1,800 civilians.
- Disproportionate caseloads: Divisions like auto theft face thousands of new cases monthly, creating unsustainable workloads.
“This cycle of urgency, followed by temporary fixes, leads to the same issues resurfacing,” Poor said.
Historical Context
A 2014 audit revealed that HPD failed to investigate over 20,000 cases in 2013 due to manpower shortages, including 15,000 burglary and theft cases, 3,000 assaults, and 3,000 hit-and-runs. The SL code was introduced as a metric to track unresolved cases, but it has since become a symbol of the department’s chronic resource challenges.
Mayor John Whitmire has proposed raising the city’s revenue cap to increase police funding, but Poor fears the issue may once again fade from public attention, as it has repeatedly over the past three decades.
“There’s always urgency at first,” she said, “but once the bleeding stops, the mandate disappears.”
