February 27, 2004 -- Mayor Bill White today announced Harold L. Hurtt, chief of the Phoenix, Arizona, Police Department, as his choice to head the Houston Police Department.
“Chief Hurtt is a leader, someone who can instill confidence up and down the ranks. He can also communicate well with our diverse community,” said Mayor Bill White. “Many consider Chief Hurtt the most successful major-city chief in the country.”
Mayor White also offered praise for Acting Police Chief Joe Breshears, a 30-year veteran of the Houston Police Department. “Chief Breshears is a consummate professional and a dedicated public servant. We greatly appreciate his many years of loyal and able service to Houston, and particularly through this transition period,” said Mayor White.
Hurtt, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, began his law enforcement career as a patrolman in the Phoenix Department in 1968. He retired in 1992 to become chief of the Oxnard, California, Police Department. He returned to the Phoenix Police Department as its chief in April 1998.
Hurtt is a noted proponent of the “community policing” concept. He has been innovative, helping institute neighborhood police storefronts. He incorporated the Oxnard Police Department's cable television program, “Street Beat,” into that department's community policing effort. In Phoenix, he instituted his “knock-and-talk” campaign, going door to door in that city's neighborhoods to listen to residents' concerns about police and community issues. He also led efforts to increase the number of officers who speak Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese in the diverse Phoenix community.
In 2002, Hurtt was selected by his peers as president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an organization of the 57 largest police forces in the Unites States and Canada. When the nation's second-largest police force, in Los Angeles, was ordered by a federal court consent decree to undergo major reforms in 2001, Hurtt was chosen among a select team of monitors to oversee that effort.
Violent crime rates have fallen more than 9 percent during Hurtt's tenure as chief in Phoenix. Property crime fell about 4 percent. Crime rates decreased nearly 30 percent during his time as chief in Oxnard.
Hurtt graduated from Arizona State University in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in sociology. He earned a master's degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix in 1991.
Hurtt, 57, was born in Campbell County, Virginia. He and his wife, Lonetta, have four grown children and six grandchildren.
The Houston Police Department is staffed by 5,350 sworn officers, with a budget of over $450 million. The Mayor's police chief nominee is subject to confirmation by the Houston City Council.
