The Houston Police Department recently gave an update on over 4,000 sexual assault cases in the city that were delayed because of a shortage of staff, revealing that many of the paused cases had useful leads.
In February, The Dallas Express reported that HPD had found over 264,000 crime cases, dating back to 2016, that had been mistakenly put on hold due to a lack of officers to handle them. Out of those cases, 4,017 were identified as adult sexual assault crimes and were given priority, with extra officers assigned to follow up.
Mayor John Whitmire also created an external review committee to supervise the examination of paused cases.
Out of the sexual assault cases reviewed so far, 900 contained useful leads that could have been pursued at the time if the cases had not been mistakenly put on hold due to the shortage of personnel. Police Chief Troy Finner stated in February that the code should never have existed.
The department has reviewed 1,147 cases that included sexual assault DNA test kits, with 76 resulting in a CODIS hit, meaning that the “DNA profile from the sexual assault kit matches the DNA profile from a separate criminal offense or a known offender,” according to a statement from HPD. CODIS is the acronym for the Combined DNA Index System, the national DNA database maintained by the FBI.
Moreover, all other Special Victims Division cases with DNA kits were sent for review, resulting in another 20 CODIS hits. The department said in its statement that investigators are following up on all of these cases.
In some cases, investigators have been unable to locate the victim. In 51 of the DNA match cases, the victims have declined to move forward, or a suspect has already been charged, according to ABC 13 KTRK. However, at least five new charges for family violence cases have been filed as a result of the CODIS hits.
Following the discovery of the backlog, two assistant police chiefs, Ernest Garcia and Kevin Deese, have been demoted, per mentioned in KHOU 11. James Jones, the department’s policy officer, has submitted his resignation.
At a press conference last week, Chief Finner emphasized the lack of personnel and resources that continue to hinder the department’s efforts.
“We need resources. We need more officers, more investigators, more civilian staff to help us move forward,” Finner said, as per ABC 13. “I want to be truthful to our community. We cannot — we don’t have the staff to — investigate each and every crime that’s reported in our city. However, we will investigate every violent crime against persons.”
Investigators are asking victims of these crimes to update their contact information by calling 713-308-1180 or emailing [email protected].
The DDallas Police Department is similarly facing a significant shortage in staffing, resulting in an extensive backlog of sexual assault cases, as highlighted in prior coverage by The Dallas Express.
Presently, DPD operates with roughly 3,000 officers, yet an analysis conducted by the City suggests that around 4,000 officers would be required to be efficiently decrease to improve the time it takes to respond and make sure the public is safe in a city as big as Dallas.
