POLICE Department

Police Chief: Overall Crime in Houston Decreased in 2015



February 3, 2016 - Houston Police Chief Charles A. McClelland, Jr. recently released Uniformed Crime Report (UCR) statistics revealing a 3.2% decrease in crime in the city for 2015 compared to the previous year.

The chief shared the news at his recent monthly media meeting.  A short excerpt of Chief McClelland's comments is on the HPD YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/LXI6eLPgAD4 

Burglary, theft and auto theft categories all showed decreases, with a combined 4% reduction.    

Despite a 25.7% increase in murders and 23.1% increase in rapes reported, total violent crime UCR categories of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault were level with a 0% change compared to 2014 numbers.  Robberies and aggravated assaults generally make up more than 90% of violent crimes reported each year.  In 2015, robberies were up less than 1% ( .9%) and aggravated assaults decreased by 3.2%.

The most promising news is that home burglaries were down double digits for the second consecutive year with a 17.6% decrease last year, following a 13.8% drop in 2014.  

Chief McClelland credited the men and women of HPD and the community for working together to help in the fight against crime.

JFC/VHS 2-3-16
For additional information, please contact the HPD Public Affairs Division at 713-308-3200.