Houston homicide numbers up in 2021, other crimes down
HOUSTON - New data provided by the Houston Police Department reveals how crime impacted the city in 2021.
According to the numbers provided by HPD, homicides increased 21% in 2021, animal cruelty calls were up 72%, and car part thefts climbed roughly 81%.
"[Sometimes] I feel safe, yes," said Armando Luna. "Sometimes, no. You can hear the cop cars. You can hear the gunfire. You can hear people arguing with each other. Sometimes, you feel comfortable, other times you don’t."
While homicide numbers increased in 2021, other crime statistics dropped compared to 2020.
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According to HPD numbers, rape, robbery, burglary, and shoplifting calls all fell more than 10% in 2021 compared to 2020. In addition, simple assaults and vandalism calls were also down.
"I hope [the numbers] are accurate," said Tomaro Bell, Chair of Houston’s Super Neighborhood Alliance. "Word on the street is, people aren’t calling police for things like that, because the response time is just too long."
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"The pandemic did have some impact on numbers, because of restrictions," said Jessika Gaehring, a crime prevention advocate. "People are home more. You’re going to have less property crime."
HPD’s numbers indicate they needed more time to respond to calls in 2021. According to their data, HPD took almost 30% more time responding to calls compared to 2020.
"If you call police and it takes them four to six hours to come, are you going to call them anymore?" said Gaehring.
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"[People] aren’t calling police," said Bell. "They’re calling insurance companies and letting it go."
On Wednesday, Houston leaders are expected to announce a new crime prevention initiative for the city.
"We have to look out for each other," said Gaehring. "If you see something, say something."