The article is in the Houston Chronicle here.
Experts believe the inconsistent data could be a result of fewer residents reporting crimes when they happen. There are several possible explanations for that hesitancy, from a basic lack of trust in law enforcement in some communities to remarkably low police response times, which have been exacerbated by an over-reliance on flawed technology such as ShotSpotter, an alert system that officers prioritize even though it rarely leads to arrests.
Still trying to figure out what ShotSpotter has to do with slow response time, Slow response or no response has been going on for a very long time. From my personal experience, I can count several instances of slow or no response. But I will start with a resident here in the neighborhood.
He has a work vehicle in his driveway, a cargo van. A few months ago, his alarm woke him up, and he noticed someone trying to break into his vehicle. He flipped the lights numerous times to see if that would make the person leave. When that failed, he decided to open the door and yell at the person. That did not work out so well, as the person started shooting at him. I asked if he had reported it to the police, and he said no. That last time they tried to break in, the police took most of the day to get there, so he lost a day of work.
Another resident called the police because a bullet had entered her house. The police showed up over 12 hours later.
Several years ago, someone was beating a woman in front of my house; it was late at night. I called the police, and they never showed up.
Other than maybe when it is family type situation the lack of trust in police is not mentioned often. They just see it as a waste of time.
Another example is when I was at a gasoline station and noticed some people coming toward me in a manner that did not look like the friendly type. I went to the service station and told the clerk to call the police. He did; while we waited, someone arrived at a gas pump, and soon, we saw one of them point a gun at the owner of the car. He jumped back in and came into the station, and we waited for about an hour before the police showed up. I asked the officer what took so long. He replied that they knew the robbers would be gone before they got there, so there was no reason to rush.
Whitmire stated; “We’ve got thousands of police officers inside the city of Houston beyond the HPD numbers, and they don’t talk to each other,” Whitmire said. “So we’re gonna divide the city up and no community will go unprotected.”
I wish him good luck with that. We have a mayor that will tell elected officials where to patrol. However, I did hear that Ed Gonzalez may have agreed to do the border on the northern side of the city. Politics makes for strange bed fellas.
One more from me. As I was driving out of the neighborhood, I noticed a car stop and saw that they were probably exchanging money for drugs. The person in the car noticed me and started chasing me. I had my family with me. I saw a police car and stopped to tell him I was being chased. He looked at me and told me to call it in.
Whitmire has to be honest with the residents of Houston; the signing of the immigration bill by Greg Abbott will keep many of the undocumented silent. They are a huge percentage of the residents of Houston. But I would not be surprised that crimes against them are not the type that polled people would hear about. So maybe not knowing that a crime was committed means it did not happen?