Houston has implemented the Texas Repeat Offender Program (TxROP), a comprehensive multi-agency task force aimed at striking down on violent crime in the city and Harris County. Led by the Texas Department of Public Safety and which includes state troopers, special agents, Texas Rangers, Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, constables, and federal law enforcement partners, this initiative is addressing the violent criminals on our streets.
Multi-agency cooperation produces a full-scale crime-fighting strategy
The Texas Repeat Offender Program is an unprecedented partnership between the state and local law enforcement, which includes resources from Texas DPS troopers and special agents, Houston TAG Center members, Texas Rangers, and Department of Homeland Security investigators. The task force also includes aircraft support and criminal investigators working in conjunction with the Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, constables, and federal partners.
Governor Abbott stressed that this is a “Texas-sized effort” to attack what he has called a “target-rich environment” of repeat violent offenders. The initiative targets specifically murderers, rapists, and those engaging in assault who have repeated the crimes against Harris County residents despite their previous arrests and releases.
Texas DPS Colonel Martin Freeman said that this task force uses intelligence-driven operations and the sharing of that information to prioritize patrols for aggressive offenders. The target list drawn up for task force members by the Homeland Security Division in Austin centers around making known criminals who have been released from jail cheat their way out of their bond, probation, or parole.
Effective saturated patrols that reduce crime
Colonel Freeman mentioned successful task force efforts in the past, including one involving the targeting of “jugging” crimes in which thieves target bank customers in Harris, Montgomery, Waller, and Chambers counties. Results of the targeted enforcement action showed that coordinated law enforcement responses were effective, and jugging activity was significantly reduced after the enforcement action.
The strategy promotes”visible uniform presence and saturated patrols in high crime areas, which Freeman said “reduce crime a thousand percent of the time,” according to successful operations in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin. Operations are compliance-focused as opposed to being covert; there is transparency in enforcement efforts.
The task force initiative builds on several new public safety bills passed by the Texas legislature and signed by Governor Abbott, including legislation making it more difficult for dangerous criminals to receive bail. Houston Police Officers Union Executive Director Ray Hunt said new judicial appointments and the passage of new laws have started to change the culture of the release of violent offenders.
Political and community support take the initiative forward
Mayor John Whitmire, who ran on a platform of fighting crime and violent crime offenders, has been working hand-in-hand with Governor Abbott in this initiative. Both leaders agree that voters made crime a high concern and that this created political impetus for comprehensive enforcement strategies addressing years of judicial decisions on the release of repeat violent offenders.
The collaboration is part of a move away from earlier policies that have made it easy for criminals to take advantage of long trial delays and low bond amounts, with Hunt noting there has previously been “no incentive” for offenders to refrain from committing more offenses until their trial date. Houston’s new task force is a definitive shift towards aggressive enforcement of repeat violent offenders, a combination of multi-agency collaboration unlike ever before, coupled with intelligence-driven operations and legislative changes.
The initiative helps address community concerns about crime, as well as showing political commitment to public safety with coordinated state and local resources. With the proven strategies from successful operations in other Texas cities and strong bipartisan support, the program hopes to transform Houston into a national model of urban public safety for residents to live without fear of poses of violent crime.