Residents in Houston's District F voice concerns amid rise in crime

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The rise in crime has been a hot-button issue across Houston. Initiatives, like One Safe Houston, have been put in place by leaders in an attempt to address the violence.

Officers work hard to try to keep our community safe, however, time and time again, we've heard their need for more boots on the ground. In a meeting held in the heart of District F in Houston, Houston Police Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite spoke about the officer shortage in the department.

"We look at where crimes occur the most, violent crimes, and we deploy them to those areas. Sometimes it means we don't have the number of officers in a specific neighborhood that we would like to have, but we just have solely so many," Satterwhite said.

Neighbors said part of their concerns are 911 calls with slow response times.

Satterwhite said sometimes there will be a delay because their first priority in calls are people getting harmed.

"Residents are constantly complaining about gun shots, loud noise at clubs, blight, gunshots," said Houston Council member for District F, Tiffany Thomas.

She said there's also a growing concern for active shooter situations.

"We have had Santa Fe, Buffalo, Uvalde... so, for many people and, even personal friends, they were resistant to celebrate Juneteenth because they weren't comfortable going into crowds," said Thomas.

Houston Fire Department Chief Samuel Peña said first responders understand the risk and training is a priority in the city.

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