Committee says lack of communication, training led to thousands of dropped cases by Houston police

HOUSTON (AP) — A breakdown in communication, a lack of training, inconsistent protocols and an ineffective records management system were some of the reasons that led to Houston police dropping more than 268,000 cases over nearly the past decade, a committee said Wednesday.

The cases, whose existence was made public earlier this year, were never submitted for investigation as officers assigned them an internal code that cited a lack of available personnel. Among these cases were more than 4,000 sexual assault cases and at least two homicides.

“It’s a new day in Houston dealing with public safety,” Mayor John Whitmire said after members of the independent committee, which he formed in March, detailed their findings to Houston City Council at its weekly meeting.

Christina Nowak, one of the committee’s five members, told city council that the group found “significant issues” within Houston police’s case management and operations, including understaffing and inadequate communications between divisions and executive leadership. There was also a lack of adequate training for supervisors at all levels.

The committee found the Houston police department’s various investigative divisions were “operating in near total autonomy, leading to inconsistent and outdated case management practices,” Nowak said. The department’s current records management system is outdated, with information on investigations scattered across multiple systems, making it difficult to analyze and share. A new, improved system is set to be operational next year.

The committee said the police department also does not adequately use technology to help officers with their investigations and has a shortage of civilian staff who could help officers in their casework.

The committee recommended Houston police standardize its case management procedures, implement its new records management system, increase training for officers and department leadership and increase and retain its civilian staff.

“The committee wants to acknowledge that (Houston police) has recognized the severity of these issues, and is taking proactive steps to prevent further recurrence,” Nowak said.

Ellen Cohen, the committee’s chairperson, said the recommendations are focused on enhancing the transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of the police department’s case management practices.

“We realize that these recommendations require significant, significant investments in resources, technology and infrastructure,” Cohen said.

Whitmire said it was still shocking to him that Houston police had used this policy of dropping cases for lack of personnel for nearly 10 years. “We’re going to improve (Houston police) based on the recommendations,” he said.

The controversy and criticism involving the dropped cases resulted in the sudden retirement in May of then-police chief Troy Finner. A new police chief, J. Noe Diaz, was appointed earlier this month.

Finner had first made public the existence of the dropped cases in February. An investigation revealed a code first implemented in 2016 to identify why a case was dropped later became a way for officers to justify decisions to stop investigating all manner of crimes, including when violence was involved.

Finner previously told the Houston Chronicle that he regrets failing to grasp the extent of the dropped cases earlier. He said the department and its leaders — himself included — were so busy, and the use of the code was so normal, that the severity of the issue didn’t register with anyone in leadership.

Whitmire said Houston police were still working through the backlog of dropped cases.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70