HOUSTON – Chief Troy Finner of the Houston Police Department offered an apology after it was revealed that his agency dropped hundreds of thousands of criminal investigations over the past eight years due to a lack of personnel.
Last month, Chief Finner announced that 264,000 crime reports were never submitted for investigation as officers assigned each one an internal code that cited a lack of available personnel. The figure represents about 10% of the 2.8 million crime reports filed with HPD in the last eight years.
Stunningly, among the cases routed into oblivion were more than 4,000 sexual assault reports. Chief Finner not only apologized, but promised to restore public trust, Fox News Digital reported.
“I apologize to victims, their families, our citizens, for the use of the code for sexual assault incidents and other violent crimes against persons,” Finner said during a press conference on Thursday. “This is not the trauma-informed, victim-centric services they deserve. Again, this code should have never been used and never will be used again.”
The internal code was first created in 2016 as part of the department’s record management system. Chief Finner took the helm of the department in 2021. The code was used in the two administrations that preceded his.
The chief issued an order in November 2021 that officers discontinue using the code. However, he discovered last month that it was still being used to dismiss a large volume of adult sexual assault cases, according to Fox.
Two assistant chiefs have already been demoted for their roles in the matter, and an internal investigation remains ongoing.
