The Houston Police Department is operating with far fewer officers than other major cities of similar size in the United States. The department is often spread thin and has to prioritize more serious crimes over smaller neighborhood violations and infringements such as panhandling, loitering, overgrown lots, graffiti, junk motor vehicles, property code violations, homeless encampments and other public nuisances. To help bridge that gap, my office created the District J Patrol Community Committee. This committee is made up of individuals from within the district who serve as a liaison between the community and the police department. The committee members are selected based on their existing leadership and engagement within their own neighborhoods in District J, as well as their availability and interest. The committee focuses on quality of life concerns and neighborhood violations and work directly with HPD’s Differential Response Team (DRT) making this patrol primarily community driven.

The DRT is a group of officers specially trained to use problem-solving strategies in community policing. They work proactively to solve problems at the neighborhood level, such as calls involving mental health or substance abuse issues, to reduce the fear of crime. These officers undergo departmental training for certification every year to seek the root causes of community crime issues. The DRT works in collaboration with the District J Patrol Committee to tackle non-violent issues that can affect quality of life.

In conjunction with the District J Patrol Community Committee and the DRT officers, we have purchased five Polaris vehicles for DRT officers to use while patrolling. These vehicles are reserved for District