Manpower data provided by the Houston Police Department reveals a significant police staffing shortage in West Houston.  Several different allocation models were used (population, crime, calls for service, etc.) to determine the “average” staffing level for each of HPD’s twelve geographic departments throughout Houston. 

Once the department averages were obtained, those numbers were applied to the manpower stats for each station to determine whether that station is above or below “average,” and what the adjusted manpower should be for that station.

In every single model, the Westside station is BELOW the department average in staffing.  In fact, Westside is anywhere from 38 to 116 officers BELOW the department average, depending on which model is being utilized.  By averaging all models, we have determined that Westside has 74 fewer officers than the department “average”.  Meanwhile, other areas of town have more officers than “average.”

We are not advocating overtime or hiring additional officers.  This is a problem that can be solved with existing resources.

Review the Data