Houston Police Department

March 22, 2005 -- The Houston Police Department's Major Offenders Division coordinated the first Violent Crimes Tactical Response (VCTR) initiative in cooperation with state and federal authorities. The initiative, undertaken between June 1, 2004 and October 31, 2004, was proposed by the ATF as a joint operation involving their
Houston office and units of the Houston Police Department with the goal of targeting crimes that involved firearms and other violent gang related offenses. Two police beats in southwest Houston met the parameters of the program and were selected as the targets for the initiative.

Implementation of the program involved HPD officers assigned to the Westside, Fondren, Narcotics, Major Offenders, Robbery, and Crime Analysis Divisions. The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) was integral to the operation. In addition, administrative support was obtained from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

The initiative resulted in (129) traffic related charges, (429) misdemeanor charges, and (190) felony charges filed. Additionally, a substantial amount of narcotics, a 1998 Ford truck, (29) firearms, and $18, 955 were recovered and/or seized. More importantly, a comparative analysis of the two target police beats found that violent crime rates decreased more than 15% during the time that the initiative was in operation.

For additional information, please contact the HPD Public Affairs Division at 713-308-3200.