HOUSTON – Houston's police chief announced his retirement one day before the Houston Police Department announced a 3 percent decrease in the city's overall crime rate in 2015. However, Chief Charles McClelland's outlook for the department's future was not entirely optimistic.
McClelland said he is concerned HPD is not keeping up with attrition. The chief said HPD loses 250 officers a year but only hires between 210 and 220 new officers.
McCLelland also pointed out there are 1,900 officers currently eligible to retire, if they choose
"We are losing ground every single year, and I actually have, today, almost 200 officers less than when I was sworn in, in 2010," said McClelland.
McClelland cited the department had 5,400 officers in 1998, but today has only 5,200, while Houston's population grew by 400,000 in that time.
"Are you concerned the Houston Police Department is facing a cliff in terms of having enough police officers to handle the crime in a city this size?" asked Channel 2 Investigator Robert Arnold.
"I think it could be a death by a thousand cuts. It's a slow bleed. It's not a crisis where things are about to collapse, but it's a slow erosion of customer service, which can undermine citizens' confidence," said McClelland.
McClelland said more officer’s means faster responses to non-life threatening calls and more visibility in neighborhoods.
McClelland said it is not a lack of applicants preventing HPD's ranks from keeping pace with Houston's population.
"Financing. It all comes down to dollars," said McClelland. "If this department does not add one single employee this year, and we maintain the exact staffing today, next year, our budget must increase."
McClelland's concerns about HPD's manpower come in light of a city facing a $100 million shortfall. McClelland said those are challenges best left to a new administration.
"It takes a lot of emotion, a lot of emotional energy and physical energy to just do this job, you know, 10-12 hour days, seven days a week sometimes," said McClelland. "I'm part of HPD's past, not the future. So I just think that new leadership needs to figure out the best way to overcome those challenges."
After 39 years with HPD, McClelland said he looks forward to "never setting his alarm clock again," working on his golf game, possibly some consulting work and writing an autobiography.
