Violent crimes down in Houston, Texas according to police chief Charles A. McClelland, Jr

Citywide, violent crime in Houston is down more than 12 percent overall for the first three quarters of 2010 when compared to the same time period one year ago. For the first nine months of this year, Murders are down 9.7%, Rapes are down 13.5%, Robberies are down 15.6% and Aggravated Assaults are down 9.2%. In non-violent crime categories during the same time period, Burglaries showed a .6% decrease, Thefts 1.6% and Auto Thefts 13.6%.

Houston Police Chief Charles A. McClelland, Jr. praised the efforts of officers and citizens for the reductions. "With all the challenges we face as a department in tough economic times, to realize a reduction in every major category of violent and non-violent crime is something the officers and citizens should be very proud of," said Chief McClelland. "This is what can occur when citizens in the community work cooperatively with the men and women of HPD. I am convinced we are building trust and forming meaningful partnerships in neighborhoods. There are a number of factors we do not control, but better use of technology, increased police-community relations and strategic deployment of resources has aided us in achieving these results."

The Chief was pleased to report significant strides in the average time it took officers to respond to the highest priority calls for service. The average time to respond to a code 1 emergency call was 4.1 minutes in September, well below the targeted time of 5 minutes.