Up Close: Cop shortage reaches 'critical point'

10:34 AM CDT on Thursday, June 16, 2005

By Jeff McShan / 11 News

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HOUSTON -- A lot of police officers who fear it's also a public safety issue said there is a staffing shortage at the Houston Police Department.

KHOU-TV

Union president Hans Marticiuc says he's hearing the cries for help -- from his officers.

Police sources said that Wednesday evening there are only three officers patrolling a part of southwest Houston that is known to be one of the worst parts in the entire city for crime.

Just after lunch, Reverend Melvin Barnes heads to his van to begin his rounds as a citizen on patrol.

He is doing his part to protect his northwest Houston neighborhood, Acres Homes.

"They see the sticker, they know you. The community that I live in, everybody knows me," says Rev. Barnes.

Citizen patrol groups have been around since 1985, but they've probably never been needed as much as they are right now.

For months, Houston police officers have been telling 11 News about what they're calling a severe shortage. They believe the shortage of police officers and detectives hinders their ability to fight crime, and often puts them in dangerous situations.

Union president Hans Marticiuc says he's hearing the cries for help, too.

"We're getting calls all the time," says Marticiuc, "We've got officers working a district by themselves, sometimes roll calls are two or three people for an entire roll call. The numbers just don't add up for the amount of calls that we have to cover."

If you live in Houston, you might be surprised to know that the number of officers working at HPD is actually 258 less than it was 11 years ago.

Since 1994: 893 officers have retired, 596 resigned, 412 were part of phase-downs, 156 were terminated and 60 officers died.

During this time, the city's population grew by more than 300,000 and the territory patrolled by HPD increased by more than 40 square miles.

When asked how serious the situation is, "I think we're at a critical point. I think we're at a critical point and our council people need to prioritize here," Marticiuc says.

Mayor Bill White says he's working on a solution that includes adding five academy classes this year. There were none a year ago.

He blames the current situation on past administrations and an HPD retirement plan that wasn't fiscally responsible.

"The police contract was designed when I came in. It was designed to provide an incentive for people to see if they made the pay raise and then resign, because you paid on your retirement based on your last two weeks," says Mayor White.

The pay raise went into effect last year, and that's why so many officers are gone.

"We're already at a point where we don't have enough officers on the streets to back each other up," says Marticiuc.

He says additional money for overtime to place officers where they are needed the most could help.

Council member Ada Edwards disagrees. "Over 80 percent of our budget goes to public safety, so for me it's not the dollars, it's the management and I don't know who's to blame, but I think we really need to talk about it."

They're talking about it in Acres Homes, where neighborhood leader Charles Ingram says putting patrols on the streets should be a high priority.

"They are supposed to move, they are supposed to deter crime. They are to seek crime in action. If a citizen comes out and waves their hands, you have a patrol there to answer the call, but that's not the case," says Ingram.

"We need to get those numbers up, and the chief and I are dedicated to get those numbers up where they need to be," says White.

Chief Hurtt says he knows his men and women in blue are short-handed.

"I think the citizens of Houston should really continue to support them because we all realize several years, we went without having any academy and several people have retired in the last year or so, but the Houston Police Department is up to meeting the challenge," says Hurtt.

And while that battle will most likely be fought in the administration, Rev. Melvin Barnes will wage his own war against crime by driving the streets.