Houston Police Misuse Of Code Leads To 260,000 Ignored Cases, Including Sexual Assault Cases

The Houston Police Department has been rocked by scandal since February when the former Chief of Police, Troy Finner, announced that more than a quarter million cases had been suspended due to a code being used too often by officers.

After months of investigation, the acting Chief, Larry Satterwhite, went to City Hall in Houston to present the findings of the investigations. And the findings were shocking.

Misuse of Code Leads To Houston Police Scandal

According to HoustonPublicMedia.com, misuse of the "lack of personnel" code could have been prevented years ago by putting in parameters and guidelines. More than 260,000 cases were suspended. Of those, 67% have now been reviewed and 31% re-closed. And these cases aren't just for petty crimes. According to the story, these included over 4,000 sexual assault cases.

Among the cases HPD let get cold are 9,000 special victims cases, including more than 4,000 sexual assaults. The department has since reviewed 7,000 of the special victims cases and re-closed more than 5,000, including all sexual assault cases. Those victims have been connected to counseling services.

Over 109,000 cases were suspended by Houston's Major Assaults and Family Violence Division. Of those, 61,000 have been reviewed with more than 19,000 being re-closed.

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The "Lack of Personnel" code was created in 2016, but Houston Police now say officers did not get the right training on how to use the code. The acting Chief of Police also told the City that the police department is still "severely understaffed".

Houston's Mayor, John Whitmire said the scandal was "one of the most shocking things" he has seen while in public service.

Due to the understaffing of the Houston Police Department, Satterwhile told City officials that some cases will still need to be suspended.