While crime rates continue to rise here in Houston, according to data released by the Texas DPS, crime clearance rates remain really, really low. So what is a crime clearance rate?
"So, a clearance rate is law enforcement's lingo for how many crimes are actually solved" said local political commentator Bill King, who is also a fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute.
After taking a deep dive into the numbers, King found that when it comes to solving crimes here locally, Houston has a problem.
"The numbers have been terrible for a really long time" King told KTRH, "And so I pulled it up for 2024 to look at them, and the rates are still terrible."
According to the data, the crime clearance rate for violent crime here in Houston is only 26%, with robbery at just 19%. That needs to change, and it starts with local leaders.
"We need to have people that are responsible for managing and overseeing police departments, like the police chiefs, mayors, city council" noted King, "Start asking why are these numbers so bad? What can we do to improve them?"
We reached out to the Texas DPS as well, but they did not respond to our request.
Photo: ANDRI TAMBUNAN / AFP / Getty Images