By Travis McGee
Depending on who you ask crime is up and crime may be down at the same exact time. Most crime isn’t reported, but often time even when it is reported it’s not investigated depending on the demographic and the zip codes. There are over 260,000 incidents that could be cases and should not be considered incidents or simple reports a er years of collecting dust in the crime lab. Again, saying that crime is down while the crime isn’t actually being properly investigated is what we call an untrue statement, some may even call it a lie. Others may call it pencil whipping the numbers and some might even call it Order Grade Bull$*!#. But, everyone should call for accountability, including HPD.
This crime lab fiasco doesn’t start or end with one person but neither does crime. In order to fix the problem, we have to first admit that we have a problem. Houston, we have a problem and there’s been too many bodies dropping all over Houston and not just in the so-called dangerous neighborhoods like Sunnyside. We are just three months into the year and crime is very high according to the victims of the crimes. The problem has never been the communities but instead, the people coming in and out of them where you have both. There is no such thing as bad community, but there is such a thing as neglect. Crime is the effect of neglect. A bad crime lab equates to distrust, false imprisonment, no accountability, and wasted tax dollars just to name a few.
In the past, certain cases after sitting in the lab for six or more years have been outsourced with hundreds of thousands remained untouched at the crime lab. Finding evidence six years later on the same clothing you found zero evidence on prior to is more than suspicious and red flags should be raised. The victims of criminal activities deserve far superior treatment than having to rely on an unreliable crime laboratory in what is soon to become the third largest city in the United States. If we are truly “Houston Strong” we must be all the time and not just when it’s Hurricane Season. Crime is indeed up, and it will take everybody to bring it down, but it has to begin with transparency plus accountability.
If our city is uncertain about the crime statistics or whether they are increasing or decreasing, it would be wise to consult the victims themselves. They deserve to have the crimes committed against them thoroughly investigated, and they should receive truthful answers instead of generic political responses.
