13 Investigates: Have Harris County deputies found the key to cutting crime?

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Harris County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chris Hendrix said he didn't have to worry about crime when he was growing up in his Cypress Station neighborhood.

But over the years, he said that changed.

"I've seen it when it was not a lot of crime, but when it got a lot of crime, we are where we are now," Hendrix said. "Growing up, it wasn't a lot of crime in Cypress Station. You could walk down there, no gunshots, nothing like that. Then it got to a point where we're going down the street. We have people getting killed in these apartments."

Three years ago, a 13 Investigates analysis of Harris County Sheriff's Office crime data found that Cypress Station had the highest number of reported crimes in the county, with one reported every seven hours in that neighborhood. Our analysis just looked at the county and did not include crime data for the City of Houston.

SEE ALSO: 13 Investigates: How residents in this North Harris County neighborhood became numb to crime

Among the violent Cypress Station crimes that year was a 4-year-old girl who was shot by a stray bullet in 2021.

Years later, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez still remembers responding to that scene and thinking that something has to change.

"It's historically been our busiest and most violent area, and so that was concerning, to begin with. And then just myself, on a regular basis, making scenes and seeing some of the carnage and some of the propensity for crime that was happening. It was just unacceptable," Gonzalez told 13 Investigates' Kevin Ozebek in a sit-down interview. "I've always stepped up to the challenge. I welcome opportunities like that to see how we could be creative, and we just kind of scanned the toolbox and wanted to come up with different approaches because what (we were doing), just simply being reactive, wasn't enough."

Gonzalez said they secured funding from a local Municipal District Services to hire 10 deputies for a specialty unit focused solely on proactively policing in Cypress Station.

This included getting to know residents and business leaders in the community instead of just responding to crimes.

The team of deputies, led by Harris County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Sidney LaBove, started making their presence known as they worked toward reducing crime and building trust.

"When I hear the term community-oriented policing, basically it's about the problems of the community. If it is something like we keep getting apartments broken into, we keep having guys hanging out in front of this store, we know these people are selling drugs in this location," LaBove said as we rode along with him during a recent patrol. "(It comes down to) us coming in and eliminating that issue to the best of our abilities."

LaBove said it's also important to learn about the community's needs, such as resources for the homeless or job fairs. They also host community events to connect with families, including a recent Trunk-or-Treat event for Halloween.

Since forming the unit, the sheriff's office has been keeping an eye on crime track data and what's working.

The county's top location for violent crime, 990 Cypress Station, has seen a 75% decrease in violent crime over the last year, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Overall, in the Cypress Station area, the sheriff's office says violent crime dropped by 21%, aggravated robbery fell by 49%, and family violence incidents decreased by 29%.

"The crime has gone down. They still have some of the gateway crimes, such as criminal trespassing," LaBove said. "But it has gone down. We don't see that violent crime anymore since we've been out there."

13 Investigates visited the community and spoke with residents and property owners in Cypress Station who agree that that neighborhood feels safer.

Before LaBove's team was formed, Sandy Galvon, who manages an apartment complex in Cypress Station, said she remembers the fear she felt at work every day.

Now, she said she feels safe and more secure. The complex even hosts events for police and residents to meet with one another and address their concerns.

"He's like family. He's going to help you," she said about Sergeant LaBove. "He's not the kind of police you're scared to call. He's different. And not only him, the team."

Derek Davis, who lives in the Cypress Station neighborhood, said there was one point in his life when he didn't get along with police. Now, he said he's happy to see them.

"It was a lot worse," Davis said. "At this time right now, we don't really have crime over here anymore. The police is staying steady doing they jobs. Then we have security. They walks all night, so it's been quiet down."

Gonzalez said he's proud of the work the team has done to build connections with the community and bring crime down and is looking to expand the program into other neighborhoods across the county.

"It's just been impressive just to see how everything has really fallen into place here," he said.

13 Investigates analyzed crime data for this year and found the neighborhood with the most calls for crime is no longer Cypress Station and is now the 77449 zip code in Katy.

"We absolutely will look at this as a base model, as a proof of concept that it does work," Gonzalez said. "Crime isn't always very stagnant. It is going to move. And especially if you push it out in one area, it's going to give rise somewhere else. But I think if you use the same principles and engage with the community, look for interested property owners, and engage deputies and policing, I think we could duplicate a lot of this."

For updates on this story, follow Kevin Ozebek on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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