HOUSTON — Houston Police Chief Troy Finner was back on the hot seat Tuesday regarding HPD's suspension of more than a quarter of a million incident reports over the last eight years.
On Monday, Finner admitted that the practice of suspending reported crimes "due to lack of personnel" was far more widespread than previously thought and went beyond sex assaults.
In a statement posted to X, Finner said every HPD department had used the "due to lack of personnel" code since 2016.
"We determined that department-wide approximately 264,000 such incident reports since 2016 were suspended with this code," Finner said. "That figure represents about 10% of the 2.8 million incident reports filed with HPD in the past eight years. Of those 264,000 reports, about 100,000 of them are property crimes."
Only KHOU 11 News was there Tuesday when the chief addressed "the elephant in the room" while speaking at a conference on crime at Greater Houston Partnership. Finner told the lawmakers and community leaders that the suspensions never should have happened and vowed the codes won't be used again while he's chief.
“If I’m gonna clean something up, I’m gonna go all the way to the, you know, 2016, when it started, and we’re looking at everything," Finner said. "And the team, we’ve got great progress, and I’m proud of that. But again, I don’t want to leave any victim behind.”
He vowed to keep digging to uncover the full extent of the damage.
"So, it’s my job to get in there, get our team in there, flush all that out, tell the public exactly what was in there, and how we’re gonna fix it. And let me not step aside on accountability. That’s a big thing too. You’ll see that," the chief said.
We asked Finner if the suspensions impacted HPD's crime numbers.
"No, it doesn’t. Those numbers that come in, they come in. But let’s look at the clearance rate, and let’s look where that stays," Finner told us. "That’s why I’m asking the whole entire department: let’s look at our entire systems. If something needs fixing, let’s fix it. The damage that was done, let’s clean that up and let’s admit to it.”
The chief told us he will release more details on the department's next steps later this week.
The suspended sex assault reports first came to light in mid-February when Finner posted to social media about a "significant number" of cases that were suspended. At the time, he called the situation unacceptable.
About a week later, Finner held a news conference and explained that as many as 4,017 reported sexual assaults had been "suspended due to lack of personnel." Some of the reported crimes went as far back as 2016.
Finner claimed he first heard about the code in November 2021, the same year he became chief, and he asked HPD's Special Victims' Division to stop using it, however, he learned this year, that the code continued to be used.
KHOU 11 asked for a definition of the code and how much work had been done on the incident reports before they were suspended, Finner admitted that he didn't know. However, he did say he is launching an investigation into the issue.
Finner said he moved personnel to HPD's Special Victims' Division to help investigate the suspended sex assault reports. On Monday, he said he is also moving additional personnel to other investigative divisions to address these incident reports involving crimes against persons.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire has expressed concern about this issue since it was made public. On Monday, he told KHOU that he had instructed Finner to be transparent and continue his review as a top priority.
Read his Mayor Whitmire's full statement below:
"I am very concerned. It is unacceptable and I have instructed Chief Finner to be transparent and continue his review as a top priority. Public safety continues to be my highest priority."
On Tuesday, Vice Mayor Pro Tem Amy Pick issued the following statement.
“I am deeply troubled and disappointed by the suspended investigations by some at HPD. It is imperative that law enforcement thoroughly investigates all matters to ensure that justice and accountability prevail. Our patrol officers and specialized units work tirelessly to protect and serve our community. To find out that their work is being undermined by leadership who authorized this suspension code to be used is disrespectful to their job and to all Houstonians. I am truly concerned for the victims who were not treated with the respect they deserve. Our city should and must do better. I continue to support our police officers and recognize their crucial role in our community, but there must be accountability in this decision to suspend the investigations. We do not have all the information yet, but I have no doubt that Mayor Whitmire will have it thoroughly investigated. I will continue to monitor the outcome to make sure that there is an immediate change in protocol.”
Andy Kahan, victims advocate with Crime Stoppers Houston, said he is at a loss for words after this reveal.
"It's disturbing on all facets, and it hits home for us, particularly in victims community or advocacy," he said. "How do we deal with victims whose cases have been affected by this? Are there statutes of limitation in particular property crimes?"
If you were a victim of a crime and believe your case didn't get enough attention, you can contact the Houston Police Department at 713-884-3131.