Houston police have now launched an aggressive plan to deal with the homeless downtown.

This crackdown is going on because HPD has been getting hundreds of complaints from people who say they’ve been hassled, or seen street people trashing sidewalks, relieving them in public and even stealing.

They strum their own tune on the streets of downtown, a constant reminder of the thousands of men and women who make this their home.

But from the distance there’s a different beat, and it will now come with reinforcements.

For months, police say they’ve been inundated with complaints about crime committed by the homeless.

In the past, we’ve shown you a man who police say posed as a parking lot attendant to con drivers out of money. But he’s not the only one.

“You have everything from crimes being committed, to cars being broken into, urinating, defecating in a public place,” HPD Capt. Gregory Fremin said.

Officers led us to yet another problem.

Squatters building shacks on abandoned downtown properties.

“That’s a homemade bed put on milk crates,” homeless man Walter Brooks said.

Brooks said he and a few others have been living underneath this billboard for five months.

Until now, only two officers have worked with the downtown homeless on a full-time basis.

The new plan calls for all who patrol these streets to keep a watchful eye.

Also on task are refresher courses on the laws and ordinances regarding the homeless and distributing information on shelters.

“Our goal is truly to just improve the quality of life and reduce fear and crime in the downtown area,” Capt. Fremin said.

So the cops on the beat will take new steps to fight an old problem.