[00:00:04]
OKAY.COUNCILMAN MICHELLE? WANNA COME CLOSER?
LEMME JUST START OFF 'CAUSE I WANT TO TALK THINGS.
UM, UM, TALK ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, 'CAUSE GOING BACK IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, UH, WE PUT FORTH THE ONE SAFE HOUSTON PLAN AFTER WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH, UH, CHIEF F, WITH HPD, WORKING WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND GETTING THEIR AUTHORITY IDEAS, WORKING WITH LEGAL.
UH, SO THE ONE SAFE HOUSTON PLAN WAS PUT FORTH.
UM, AND AT THAT TIME, UH, YOU KNOW, WELL THEN AND NOW, UH, CRIME IS THE, THE NUMBER ONE.
PUBLIC SAFETY IS THE NUMBER ONE, IS THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE.
UH, THERE WERE SEVERAL THINGS INCLUDED, AND ONE SAFE HOUSTON.
UH, ONE WAS TO, UM, GET ON TOP OF THIS BAIL BOND SITUATION WHERE BAIL BONDING COMPANIES WERE LETTING PEOPLE OUT EITHER ON A PAVEMENT PLAN OR UNDER 10%.
UH, SO WE WANTED TO, UH, CHANGE THAT.
APPRECIATE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE HARRIS COUNTY BAIL BONDING AUTHORITY ON LAST WEEK, UH, THAT PUT THAT AT 10%.
UM, THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE CUSTOMARY BELIEVE IT SHOULD BE.
AND SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS A POSITIVE STEP, AND I THINK IT WILL MAKE A, MAKE A DIFFERENCE, BUT IT'S A COLLECTIVE EFFORT.
UH, THE SECOND ONE, UH, WAS, UM, WITH REGARDS TO OUR, UH, CAMERAS AND LIGHTING, UM, ON CERTAIN, UM, CLASSES OF BUSINESSES, CONVENIENCE STORES, UH, UH, HAPPENED TO BE WON BARS AND CLUBS.
AND THEN TODAY, THAT PASSED ON A 15, UH, TO ONE VOTE.
I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THAT.
AND I CERTAINLY DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE VICE, VICE MAYOR, PRO TEM, UH, MARTHA CASTEK TATUM, UH, BECAUSE THAT PARTICULAR ITEM THAT WAS INCLUDED IN ONE SAFE HOUSTON, UH, CAME DIRECTLY FROM HER AND FROM, AND FROM HER WORK.
AND IN VERY SHORTLY, I WOULD LIKE HER TO SPEAK TO THAT.
UH, SO WE THINK THAT WILL MAKE THINGS MUCH, MUCH SAFER.
UH, THERE'S ANOTHER ORDINANCE THAT IS BEING PREPARED RIGHT NOW BY LEGAL, UH, THAT WE'LL WE WILL BE DEALING WITH WITHIN THE NEXT 30 DAYS.
SO THE GO-TO, UM, COMMITTEE, PUBLIC SAFETY, HOMELAND SECURITY CHAIR BY ABBY CAYMAN.
AND THAT'S DEALING WITH, UH, CATALYTIC CONVERTERS, UH, PREVENTING PEOPLE FROM, UH, COMING OFF THE STREET AND RESELLING THEM, UH, FOR THEIR PRECIOUS METAL, AT LEAST IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
UH, AND THE GOAL IS TO MAKE IT EVEN MORE, UH, DIFFICULT NOT TO MAKE IT CONVENIENT, UH, FOR PEOPLE TO BE STEALING CATALYTIC CONVERTERS AND THEN GOING AND RESELLING THEM, BECAUSE IF THERE'S NO MARKET, THERE'S NO REASON FOR THEM TO, UH, TO BE STEALING THEM.
UH, SO WE WANNA MAKE IT AS, UM, LEAST CONVENIENT AS POSSIBLE, UH, SO THAT, UH, PEOPLE ARE NOT DOING THAT.
UM, BUT THE, THE WHOLE GOAL WHEN YOU COMBINE ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS IS TO MAKE OUR CITY SAFER.
NOW, WE'LL TELL YOU IN MOST OF OUR VIOLENT CRIME CATEGORIES, AND I THINK CHIEF FINN COULD SPEAK TO THAT, UH, WHEN YOU COMPARE WHERE WE ARE TODAY TO WHERE WE WERE EVEN LAST YEAR OR JUST A FEW, UH, MONTHS AGO, THE CRIME IS DOWN, UH, UH, IN THOSE CYCLES.
HOMICIDE, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, UH, WE WERE AT LIKE 50, 60% ON HOMICIDES.
WHEN I LOOKED AT IT CHIEF THIS MORNING.
UH, WE WERE DOWN TO 8% OVER LAST YEAR.
UH, AND THEN I WANNA FOCUS ON, BECAUSE NYC HOUSTON, WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UH, UH, CREATING OUR SHOPPING SPACES, UH, MAKING THEM SAFER AS WELL.
UM, A LOT OF CONVERSATION WITH REGARDS TO THE SHOOTING THAT TOOK PLACE AT THE GALLERIA.
AND WE ARE REALLY CRACKING DOWN, UH, NOT JUST ON GALLERIA, BUT IN SHOPPING CENTERS AS AS, AS WELL, UH, TO MAKE IT, UM, THESE AREAS AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE AND WANNA SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE TO PEOPLE.
UH, THESE ARE AREAS WHERE YOU DON'T WANT TO GO AND ENGAGE IN SHOOTINGS AND, AND, UH, ROBBING AND STEALING.
THERE ARE CAMERAS ALL AROUND, UH, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE GALLERIA AREA ALL AROUND.
EVERY ENTRANCE THAT YOU PRETTY MUCH COME IN, EXIT, UH, THERE ARE CAMERAS, UH, THE SHOOTING THAT TOOK PLACE OF THIS COMING SATURDAY.
UH, THAT PERSON HAS NOW BEEN APPREHENDED AND IT'S NO LONGER ON THE STREET.
AND I WANT TO GIVE A GREAT DEAL OF CREDIT, UH, TO HPD, UH, FOR MOVING VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
UH, BUT THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS, AS WELL AS WITNESSES HELP OUT QUITE A BIT.
SO IF YOU COMMIT A CRIME, YOU CAN REST ASSURED THAT WE WILL BE RIGHT ON YOUR TRAIL TO GET YOU OFF THE STREET AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
UH, IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THE GALLERIA WILL BE AND WILL BE SAFE FOR ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO GO AND SHOP THERE.
YOU KNOW, ME AND MY FAMILY WILL BE GOING THERE VERY, VERY SOON.
UH, BUT, UH, BUT WANNA SEND A CLEAR MESSAGE THAT THESE ARE PLACES YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO AND COMMIT A CRIME.
BUT NUMBER TWO, IF YOU DO YOUR
[00:05:01]
BUT WILL NOT BE OUT THERE IN THE STREET VERY LONG, OKAY? YOU WILL BE APPREHENDED VERY QUICKLY.AND THEN IT'S MY HOPE THAT THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM, THE JUDGES, WILL NOT ALLOW THESE PEOPLE OUT JUST LIKE THAT.
SO, UM, TO BRING EVEN GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY TO THE SYSTEM.
OKAY? SO THE WORST THING THAT WE CAN DO IS ARREST, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY GO RIGHT BACK OUT ON THE, ON THE STREETS OF THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO, CERTAINLY SAYING TO OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM AS HPD AND OTHERS DO THEIR PART, NOW, THE OTHER PARTS OF THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM, UH, CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM MUST DO ITS PART.
BUT LET ME, LET ME PAUSE 'CAUSE I WANNA FIRST BRING UP, UH, VICE MAYOR PRO TEM.
LEMME BRING UP, UH, CASTEK TATUM TO TALK ABOUT THE ORDINANCE THAT PASSED TODAY.
I'M EXCITED THAT TODAY WE ANSWERED THE CRIES OF MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, WHEN WE GO TO COMMUNITY MEETINGS, UH, WEEK AFTER WEEK, OUR RESIDENTS ARE ASKING US FOR HELP.
AND WHAT WE DID TODAY WAS LET THEM KNOW THAT THEIR SAFETY IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO US, UM, AND THAT WE HAVE TO WORK ALONGSIDE OUR HPD OFFICERS TO DETER CRIME AND TO SOLVE CRIMES.
AND SO I THANK MY COLLEAGUES FOR, UM, SUPPORTING THE ORDINANCE THAT WENT FORTH TODAY.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO MAKING SURE THAT EVERY PERSON THAT LIVES IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON FEELS SAFE AND FEELS LIKE THEY CAN GO TO A CONVENIENCE STORE, STOP AND GET GAS, AND GO HOME SAFELY.
IF YOU ASK ANY OF THE DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBERS WHAT ARE THE NUISANCE CONVENIENCE STORES IN YOUR DISTRICT, THEY CAN RATTLE 'EM OFF RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF THEIR HEADS BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN A CONSISTENT PROBLEM IN OUR CITY OF HOUSTON.
AND SO TODAY, WE ARE LETTING PEOPLE KNOW IF YOU ARE LOITERING OUTSIDE OF CONVENIENCE STORES, SEXUALLY, UM, ORIENTED BUSINESSES, UM, BARS AND COMMITTING CRIMES, WE WILL SEE YOU ON CAMERA.
AND IF YOU ARE COMMITTING THOSE CRIMES, WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT YOU WILL PAY THE PENALTY FOR CAUSING A NUISANCE IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO KEEPING HOUSTON HOUSTONIAN SAFE.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE SECURITY CAMERA ORDINANCE AND CHIEF FINNER.
WE APPRECIATE WORKING ALONGSIDE YOU AND ALL OF THE HPD OFFICERS WHO HAVE GIVEN US THIS DATA.
REALLY WHAT WE ARE DOING IS FOLLOWING THE DATA.
WHEN HPD TELLS US THERE ARE SEVEN OVER 7,000 CRIMES COMMITTED AT A CONVENIENCE STORE THAT'S ALMOST 21 CRIMES A DAY AT A CONVENIENCE STORE.
AND IF CONVENIENCE STORES ARE GOING TO BE IN OUR COMMUNITIES AND SEXUALLY ORIENTED BUSINESSES IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND BARS IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, THEY NEED TO BE GOOD NEIGHBORS.
AND I THINK WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY IS ASKING EVERYONE TO HELP US WITH A WIN-WIN TO MAKE HOUSTON THE BEST PLACE WE ALL WANT TO LIVE IN.
LET ME THANK VICE MAYOR FOR TIM MALT AND ALL THE MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL FOR, FOR THEIR SUPPORT.
ONE TO THANK LEO ARTUR, MICHELLE AND HIS LEGAL TEAM, UH, UH, FOR REALLY CRAFTING AN ORDINANCE THAT WE THINK IS GOOD.
UM, BEFORE I BRING UP, UH, UH, CHIEF AND I DO WANNA SAY THAT ON THE RESOLUTION OF THESE CASES, LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS TODAY WITH RESPECT TO, UH, RESOLVING CASES, HOMICIDE, EVEN ON THE DIVISIONAL REPORTS, WE ARE DOING BETTER THAN WE'VE DONE IN OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS.
UH, NEARLY 80% OF CRIMES BEING RESOLVED, UH, IN THE DIVISION I'M REPORTING.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE UCRR, IT'S OVER 60% OF THOSE CRIMES BEING RESOLVED.
SO THE NUMBERS ARE LOOKING, UH, MUCH, MUCH BETTER AND BETTER THAN THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE LAST TWO YEARS.
WITH RESPECT TO THE GALLERIA, UH, INCIDENT AND SHOOTING.
LET ME BRING YOU UP, UH, CHIEF, HE THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, THE PUBLIC CAN SEE TODAY A UNITED COMMUNITY.
THANK GOD FOR THE COUNCIL AND, AND YOUR LEADERSHIP.
MAYOR, THANKS FOR PASSING THE, UH, ORDINANCE, THE CAMERA ORDINANCE.
UM, IT SIMPLY HELPS US SOLVE CRIMES, UM, AND IT SHOULD BE A DETERRENT TO ANYBODY JUST GOING FORWARD AS WE STAND THESE CAMERAS UP.
IF YOU COMMIT A CRIME IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON, ESPECIALLY VIOLENCE, WE'RE COMING AFTER YOU.
LET ME JUST TOUCH ON THE GALLERIA REALLY QUICKLY.
AND THE, UH, INFORMATION'S GONNA BE VERY LIMITED BECAUSE, UM, CHARGES WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF FILING CHARGES AS I SPEAK, THAT INDIVIDUAL IS IN CUSTODY.
UM, AS WE SAID MANY TIMES BEFORE, WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE UP ANYTHING IN OUR CITY.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE UP GALLERIA OR ANY OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND I TOLD PEOPLE AND WE PUT OUT A WARNING, AND I WANT TO THANK, UM, OUR MAJOR ASSAULTS DIVISION COMMANDER HOLIDAY IS HERE, UH, IN, IN THE BACK.
ALL THE OFFICERS, ALSO OUR GANG, UH, DIVISION, UH, THIS INCIDENT, AND I WILL TELL YOU THIS, IT'S GANG RELATED.
SO IT'S NOT A RANDOM, IT WAS NOT A RANDOM INCIDENT.
[00:10:01]
THAT HAD BEEF OR GOING ON FOR A WHILE, AND THEY TOOK IT OUT RIGHT THERE.OKAY? AND WE'RE NOT GONNA STAND BY.
THAT INDIVIDUAL WAS ARRESTED EARLIER THIS MORNING, AS I SAID.
UM, THEY'RE CHARGING THE, UH, FOLLOWING THE CHARGES.
THE CAMERAS AT THE GALLERIA VERY INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR INVESTIGATION RIGHT NOW.
SO, UM, JUST UNDERSTAND CAMERAS IN THE RIGHT PLACES, IN THE RIGHT TIMES IN OUR CITY.
IT'S A FORCE MULTIPLIER FOR US, AND IT HELPS US.
SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE SUPPORT, UH, FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND YOU DON'T WANT TO COMMIT A CRIME IN THE CITY OF HOUSTON.
THAT'S THE MESSAGE THAT I, THAT, UH, THAT WE ALL WANT TO SEND.
WE'LL WORK COLLECTIVELY IN GETTING IT DONE, AGAIN FROM LEGAL.
UH, WE'LL GET THESE MEASURES HEARD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
AND PUBLIC SAFETY COUNCIL, COUNCILMAN MCCAIN, UH, TO GET THEM BEFORE CITY COUNCIL, BUT IT'S A COLLECTIVE EFFORT, UH, ON OUR FRONT.
IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS TO ANY ONE, YOU FEEL FREE.
I KNOW THIS MIGHT BE THE SAME QUESTION THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE, BUT THE FIRST ONE IS, WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF PASSING THE ORDINANCE FOR A TREE AND HOW THIS GONNA WORK? WHERE THE HOUSTON CITY WHERE WILL INSTALL THIS CAMERA ON HOW THIS GONNA WORK? WELL, THEY HAVE 90 DAYS TO IMPLEMENT, UH, THESE CAMERAS, TO INSTALL THESE CAMERAS.
AND THE, THE, THE CAMERA, THE VISUAL ITSELF MUST BE CLEAR.
THEY MUST HOLD ONTO THEM FOR 30, FOR 30 DAYS.
AND THEN, UH, AND EVEN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN HAVE ACCESS WITHIN 72 HOURS.
BUT WE WANT TO WORK WITH THEM.
I KNOW HPD IS GONNA BE PUTTING FORTH A, LIKE A GUIDE HANDBOOK THAT WILL PROVIDE MORE DETAILS THAT EVERYONE WILL CLEARLY UNDERSTAND.
SO THAT DE THEY ARE WORKING ON THAT, ON THAT HANDBOOK, UH, THAT MANUAL AS WE SPEAK.
UH, BUT THE GOAL IS TO PROVIDE GREATER VISIBILITY.
THESE ARE CAMERAS THAT ARE OUTWARDLY FACING.
UH, BECAUSE OUR POLICE OFFICERS CAN'T BE EVERYWHERE.
UH, SO THAT'S THE GOAL TO PROVIDE MUCH MORE VISIBILITY.
OKAY? THAT'S THE MAIN ONE TO DETER.
AND SECONDLY, BUT IF PEOPLE, UH, INTENT ON COMMITTING CRIMES, OKAY, IT THEN IS TO HELP TO SOLVE THOSE CRIMES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
OKAY? AND CERTAINLY THE SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS, UH, ALONG WITH THE, UH, WAS VERY HELPFUL IN GETTING THE GALLERIA SHOOTING, UH, SHOOTER OFF THE STREET IN A, IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
OTHER QUESTION, WHAT DOES THE MAYOR HAVE TO SAY TO THOSE AGAINST THE ORDINANCE WHO BELIEVE THIS IS A VIOLATION OF THEIR RIGHTS? UH, WELL, YEAH.
IF YOU, IF YOU, IF YOU INTEND ON COMMITTING A CRIME, WE CERTAINLY WANNA TAKE AWAY, YOU KNOW, YOUR ABILITY TO COMMIT THAT CRIME.
YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER ONE GOAL IS TO CREATE AN, A CITY THAT'S SAFE.
PUBLIC SAFETY IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
WE'RE GONNA UTILIZE ALL OF THE TOOLS THAT WE HAVE IN ORDER TO DO JUST THAT.
WE WANT TO DRIVE THIS, THESE CRIMES, THESE NUMBERS DOWN, OKAY? WE'RE GONNA DRIVE THEM DOWN.
UH, WE WANNA MAKE THIS CITY SAFE.
WE WANT PEOPLE TO FEEL SAFE AND WITHIN THIS CITY.
AND I THINK THE PEOPLE IN THIS CITY EXPECT FOR US TO UTILIZE EVERY TOOL AVAILABLE IN ORDER TO GET THAT DONE.
CHIEF, HOW LONG WILL BUSINESS OWNERS HAVE TO COMPLY? I MEAN, AND WHERE CAN THOSE ANSWERS GO? THOSE OWNERS CAN GO, IF THEY HAVE QUESTION ON WHETHER OR NOT THEIR BUSINESS IS REQUIRED TO INSTALL CAMERAS.
THEY CAN EITHER MAKE THE INQUIRIES TO THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT OR THEY CAN GO TO H-P-D-H-P-D WILL PUT IT FOR THE MANUAL CHIEF.
YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT? YEAH, WE'LL HAVE SOMETHING OUT HERE PRETTY QUICKLY AND, UH, WE'LL PUT IT OUT ON ALL OUR PLATFORMS TO MAKE SURE ANYBODY, UM, AND WE'LL ALSO HAVE A NUMBER IF, UM, UH, STORE OWNERS OR BUSINESS OWNERS HAVE QUESTIONS BECAUSE THE EDUCATION AND THE CLARITY IS, IS IMPORTANT.
BUT, UH, WE'RE GIVEN 90 DAYS AND, AND, AND THERE'S GONNA BE A EDUCATIONAL PROCESS TOO.
WE DON'T WANT TO GO OUT AND WRITE A WHOLE LOT OF TICKETS UNLESS WE HAVE TO.
UH, WE EXPECT EVERYBODY TO BE RESPONSIBLE, UH, HOUSTONIANS AND BUSINESS OWNERS.
AND, AND, AND THAT'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
IT'S GONNA MAKE IT A SAFER HOUSTON CHIEF, ARE YOU ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE SUSPECT IN THE GALLERY OF SHOOTING YET? OR DO YOU HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL CHARGES ARE FILED? YEAH, WE HAVE TO WAIT.
CAN YOU SAY WHAT THE CHARGES WILL BE? NO.
OR EXCUSE ME, CHIEF, CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH, UM, HOW THAT SUSPECT WAS CAUGHT? I'M NOT GOING INTO ANY MORE DETAILS ON IT, UH, Y'ALL.
AND, UM, I'M GONNA BE RESPECTFUL ON THAT.
BUT AS SOON AS WE CAN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GONNA BE TRANSPARENT WITH YOU, YOU GUYS, AND, UH, WE DO WANT TO SAY HOW HE WAS ARRESTED.
'CAUSE I WANT OTHER SUSPECTS TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A SAFER CITY.
LEMME JUST, LEMME JUST GO BACK TO THE QUESTION THAT YOU PUT FORTH THAT I WANT TO KIND OF ADD A FEW MORE THINGS.
NUMBER ONE, WE HAD A STAKEHOLDERS MEETING.
SO MANY OF THESE BUSINESSES WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS ORDINANCE.
AND NUMBER TWO, HOUSTONIANS ARE NOT SHY.
IF THEY DON'T LIKE SOMETHING, THEY CERTAINLY
[00:15:01]
COULD COME TO THE COMMUNITY SESSION.NOT ONE BUSINESS OWNER THAT I CAN RECALL CAME AND EVEN SPOKE OUT CRITICALLY ABOUT IT.
SO, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FOCUS SHOULD BE ON THE FACT THAT IT WILL ENHANCE PUBLIC SAFETY.
UH, AND, AND, AND NOT JUST LOOK AT IT FROM A NEGATIVE SENSE, BUT STAKEHOLDERS WERE FINE.
UH, IT'S GO WENT THROUGH, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC SAFETY, THE COMMITTEE ITSELF, YOU KNOW, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S BEEN, THERE'S BEEN APPLE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEW.
MAY I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS? SURE.
ONE DIRECTLY RELATED TO CAMERAS.
UM, ANY CONSIDERATION TO RECORDING TRANS STAR CAMERAS? I KNOW THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION PREVIOUSLY ABOUT THAT.
IS THAT ONE OF THE THINGS YOU'RE CONSIDERING THAT IS ALSO CURRENTLY IN THE WORKS? UH, LISA CAN, WITH IT HAS GIVEN, HAS GIVEN LEADERSHIP TO THAT.
UH, SHE'S BEEN IN FREQUENT CONVERSATION, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH TDOT.
'CAUSE IN THE END, TDOT HAS TO GIVE US THE GREEN LIGHT.
UH, SO WE ARE TRYING TO MOVE AND GET THAT DONE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
BUT, UH, JUST HAD A CONVERSATION WITH, UH, LISA KENT, UH, CAROL HADDOCK WITH PUBLIC WORKS, UH, WITH JUST THE BEGINNING OF THIS WEEK ON THAT MATTER.
UH, BUT, UH, WE'RE ALSO WAITING TO GET THE GREEN LIGHT FROM OC AND THEN THE TECHNOLOGY.
I THINK WE'LL BE ABLE, UH, TO KICK IN ANOTHER PUBLIC SAFETY QUESTION, THOUGH NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO THIS, THE GOVERNOR'S TASK FORCE YESTERDAY RECOMMENDED TIGHTENING UP IN STANDARDIZING THE PERMITTING PROCESS AND SHUT DOWN AUTHORITY FOR EVENTS LIKE ASTROWORLD.
DO YOU, DO YOU EMBRACE THAT? YOU KNOW, I, I, I QUICKLY LOOKED AT IT.
IT'S BEING, IT'S BEING REVIEWED.
UH, BASED ON MY GENERAL QUICK REVIEW, UH, I THINK THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE CERTAINLY CAN WORK WITH.
I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE ANY ANGST ABOUT ANYTHING THAT I, THAT I READ IN IT.
AND THEN, UH, I KNOW SUSAN CHRISTIAN AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A JOINT, UH, WORKING GROUP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY.
AND I'VE ASKED THEM TO TAKE WHAT WAS PRESENTED AND LOOK AT IT AS A PART OF THEIR REPORT AS WELL, THEIR ASSESSMENT.
UH, BUT BASED ON MY QUICK REVIEW GENERALLY, YOU KNOW, I FIND I WAS, I'M SUPPORTIVE.
YOU CHIEF, YOU MENTIONED SORT OF A CRACKDOWN ON GALLERIA SHOPPING CENTERS, THAT KIND OF STUFF.
DOES THAT MEAN MORE CAMERAS, MORE PATROLS? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? THAT MEANS ALL OF THE ABOVE.
UH, I JUST WANNA BE, I JUST WANNA BE, YOU KNOW, AS, AS CLEAR AND AS POIGNANT AS I CAN BE.
UM, YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO TO THESE SHOPPING CENTERS AND OTHER PLACES AND COMMIT CRIMES.
THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE, UH, GOING TO BE TOLERATED.
WE'RE GONNA UTILIZE EVERY TOOL, SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS ADDED POLICE OVER TIME, WORKING WITH THE BUSINESSES THAT, THAT HAVE THEIR OWN SECURITY TEAMS AS WELL, UH, WORKING COLLABORATIVELY.
UM, I MEAN, WE ARE LOOKING AND WE ARE LOOKING AT THE DATA TO SEE WHERE, UH, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY WE CAN DEPLOY OUR RESOURCES IN ORDER TO REDUCE CRIME WITHIN OUR, WITHIN OUR CITY CHIEF NER DETAILS JUST ABOUT LIKE, THE NUMBER OF ADDED CAMERAS OR NUMBER OF ADDED PATROLS THAT KIND OF NOT AT THIS TIME.
WE WE'RE STILL EVALUATING, UH, WITH, WITH GETTING CAMERAS UP.
BUT WE, WE WANT TO COORDINATE ALSO WITH, UH, BUSINESS, UH, INDUSTRY, UH, CORPORATIONS, UH, TO MAKE SURE WE NOT DUPLICATING THINGS.
SO, UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE MOVING IT FORWARD AND WE'LL GET SOMETHING OUT TO YOU GUYS SOON.
SO LET ME THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
UM, DYLAN, THE ONLY THING I CAN SAY TO YOU IS, IS AS IT RELATES TO THE GALLERIA, YOU CANNOT COME IN AND GO OUT WITHOUT BEING SEEN.
OKAY? THERE ARE CAMERAS INSIDE THE GALLERIA.
THERE ARE CAMERAS ON THE OUTSIDE OF GALLERIA.
UH, THE GALLERIA IS GOING TO BE A VERY SAFE PLACE AT A VERY SAFE PLACE, I'M GONNA SAY WILL BE, IS A SAFE PLACE, UH, FOR PEOPLE TO GO TO SHOP, TO ENJOY THEMSELVES, TO HAVE RESTAURANTS, UM, ICE SKATING, ICE SKATING, FAMILIES FOR CHILDREN, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITIES FOR TOURISTS.
UH, SO THAT'S GOING TO, THAT'S GONNA TAKE BE THE CASE.
AND THEN LASTLY, WHAT I WILL SAY, THERE IS A SMALL GROUP OF FOLK WHO ARE CONTINUING TO COMMIT MANY OF THESE SAME CRIMES.
OKAY? SO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE GONNA BE VERY, UM, STRATEGIC IN OUR APPROACH.
WE'RE GONNA UTILIZE ALL OF OUR RESOURCES.
WE'RE GONNA EMPLOY EVERY TWO IN ORDER TO, UM, MAKE THIS CITY AS SAFE AS ANY CITY CAN, CAN BE.
AND YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS EVERY SINGLE DAY.
I'M LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS OF OTHER CITIES, OKAY? EVERY SINGLE DAY.
AND PER CAPITAL, LET ME JUST BE CLEAR, PER CAPITAL CITY IS NOT EVEN THE TOP 10.
OKAY? WE ARE NOT EVEN IN THE TOP 10 WITH ALL THE CHALLENGES.
OKAY? SO I LOOK AT THE NUMBERS EVERY SINGLE DAY AND I DO SEE HOW WHEN IT COMES TO HOMICIDES, HOW, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR IN JANUARY BEING AT 50 TO 60% AND WHERE WE ARE TODAY,
[00:20:02]
AND THE WAY SOMEONE SAY, HOUSTON, WE ARE DOWN TO 8% AND WE ARE GONNA KEEP WORKING.OKAY? CUSTOMERS CAN GO UP AND DOWN, BUT YOU GOTTA BE CONSISTENT.
OKAY? UH, SO THIS IS GOING TO BE A SAFER CITY, EVEN MORE SAFER THAN WHERE IT IS TODAY.
AND AS WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD.
BUT IT'S GONNA TAKE ALL OF US WORKING TOGETHER.
THAT'S WHY I WANT TO THANK THE MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL AND, UH, THE LICENSE PLATE READERS THAT ARE BEING USED IN, IN DISTRICT J AND OTHER PLACES.
SO WE'RE UTILIZING ALL, ALL OF OUR TOOLS IN ORDER TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
SO I KIND OF WANTED TO SAY THAT, UM, AND WANT PEOPLE TO, TO CONTINUE TO GO AND EN AND ENJOY THEMSELVES IN, IN OUR CITY.
HOUSTON IS A GREAT CITY AND WE'LL ALWAYS BE, AND WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO CONTINUE TO MAKE IT BIG.