HPD manpower survey expected to show shortage

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Are there enough police officers on the streets of Houston? The police department is hoping to find out, when they get the results of a manpower survey.

The Houston Police Department has some 5,300 officers on the street, but is that enough to protect and serve? HPD Chief Charles McClelland wants the answer and is eagerly awaiting the results of a manpower report due any day.

He said, "The mayor and I have staffing conversations all the time. You know there are several challenges when it comes to staffing. One -- certainly it's a resource issue."

Beyond that, the chief says Houston's good economy has been bad for recruiting police officers.

"When you have a robust economy and you're competing with the same labor pool as private industry and our starting pay is very low, it puts us at a disadvantage," Chief McClelland explained.

There is another issue. Of the 5,300 on the street, more than 2,000 of them are retirement eligible and could walk out at any time. The number of retirees already outpaces the numbers of new cadets.

The Houston Police Officer's Union already knows what the manpower report will reveal without having to see the official findings.

"For a city this size, we're easily 1500 to 2000 people down," said HPOU spokesperson Douglas Griffith. "We have more than 665 square miles here that we have to cover."