04:24 PM CST on Wednesday, November 16, 2005

By Chau Nguyen / 11 News

Police Chief Harold Hurtt, Part 1

Police Chief Harold Hurtt, Part 2

At least 287 sex offenders from Louisiana are in the Houston area due to Hurricane Katrina, Police Chief Harold Hurtt said.

FEMA gave the recent figures to the Houston Police Department but Chief Hurtt admits there could be even more.

“We do not know where all of these people are,” he said. “You have to remember it is the responsibility of the sex offender to register, and each time they move, to reregister."

“If they don’t do that, it’s pretty hard to track people. I don’t care if they’re from Louisiana or Houston, Texas.”

Chief Hurtt noted that the requirements to register as a sex offender in Louisiana are different from Texas criteria, so someone who is a sex offender there may not be one in Texas.

KHOU-TV

Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt cautioned parents to keep an eye out for their children, as many Louisiana sex offenders have relocated to Houston.

HPD isn't releasing the names yet, but through a partial list we obtained from DPS, we randomly picked one offender and tried to track him down.

Harvey Lee Bryant is a two-time convicted child sex offender from Louisiana. Neighbors tell us Bryant moved into a Montrose apartment a few months ago.

He lives about a block from a school and nobody we spoke with at the school knew.

"This is a small, private school and they do walk on their field trips and I'm just very upset because how would you know that information?" asked Lauren Hart, a parent.

Chief Hurtt unders the frustration.

"Sure it's a concern. I think it's a concern to need to know and want to know who's living next door," he said.

Chief Hurtt encouraged parents to keep an eye on their children and refrain from letting them go out by themselves.

The influx of people from Katrina to the Houston area has put a strain on the police department.

Chief Hurtt said previous to the evacuees’ arrival, there were 2.3 officers for every 1,000 people.

“So kick in another 200,000: We figure that we need another 400 or so officers to be able to maintain that 2.3 ratio,” he said.

The police department will initially ask FEMA for $1 million to cover the costs of hiring new classes of officers, or until that is done, to cover overtime pay to keep a presence of officers in the city.

Other notes from our meeting with the chief:

Helicopter safety

Chief Hurtt said he expects a full report on HPD’s helicopters Wednesday.

In recent years, the helicopters have had mechanical failures that have forced the aerial units to make emergency landings.

“We’re going to make sure, for the officers’ safety as well as the safety of the general public, that we address that issue,” Chief Hurtt said.

Escapee:

In regards to Tuesday’s close call with a robbery suspect, Chief Hurtt said HPD was embarrassed by the suspect’s near escape.

“We’re better than that – that shouldn’t have happened,” he said. “We have higher expectations of our people.”

Within 48 hours of an arrest warrant’s issue for a domestic violence charge, Houston police will start searching for the suspect.

Recruitment: Nov. 18 is the last day applicants may register to take the civil servant exam, which will be administered Dec. 7 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. The department is especially interested in bilingual candidates.

Holiday notes: Chief Hurtt advised shoppers to be aware of their surroundings and to refrain from displaying large amounts of cash when making purchases. He also recommended leaving any unnecessary documents at home and out of a purse or wallet while shopping in case of theft.

The DWI task force will also be up and running during the holidays, keeping an eye out for drunken drivers.