The number of reported crimes in Houston fell in 2018 compared to the previous year, with a 10.4 percent drop in violent crime leading the trend, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Police Chief Art Acevedo announced.
“The (Houston Police Department) men and women in blue are doing a heroic job and Houstonians are stepping up,” Mayor Turner said at a news conference with the police chief at the HPD academy. “When they see something, they say something. It’s a collective effort. And that’s why the numbers speak for themselves.”
“If everyone is vigilant, if everyone plays their roles and assists law enforcement, then I believe we are working in the right direction,’’ the mayor added. “We just have to keep it up.”
Overall reported crime was down 4.39 percent for the year. The police chief highlighted the declines in rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults.
“Think about that,” said Acevedo. “10.4 percent fewer Houstonians were subjected to violence.”
The police department recorded 279 murders in 2018, up 10 from 269. In 2016, Mayor Turner’s first year in office, the number was 301.
“When children are murdered, when people feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods, it’s no time for us to relax our public safety work or rest on our accomplishments,” the Mayor said.
A comparison of crime statistics 2014-2018 is below:
