In May, former Harris County Precinct 4 Chief Mark Herman was promoted as the precinct’s new constable. Since May 19, he has put 42 additional officers on the street and has since budgeted for an additional sergeant and 12 new deputies.
“We want to continue fighting crime and working with our communities to do what we do best—[making] Precinct 4 and that whole area the safest place in Harris County,” he said.
At a Nov. 5 Cy-Fair Houston Chamber of Commerce governmental affairs meeting, Herman announced a new initiative to keep deputies at their assigned contract area for a one-year minimum to establish continuity.
“The big thing with us in Precinct 4, even when [former Constable] Ron [Hickman] was here, was that we didn’t just come around when there’s a problem,” he said.
Herman also addressed a new panhandling initiative at the meeting, stating that Precinct 4 will have a zero-tolerance policy when dealing with panhandlers on the roadway.
Although panhandling is protected by free speech, a section of the Texas Transportation code provides a way to remove panhandlers that are soliciting from lanes of traffic, medians and roadways.
A January 2014 Commissioners Court report suggested that panhandling should be stopped in lanes of traffic, medians and islands, but that groups would still be able to solicit from nearby sidewalks.
“I am really big into mobility,” Herman said. “These guys are begging for money in the roadways. No more of that in Precinct 4.”
Herman called panhandling in the road a public safety issue.
“It’s a distraction when they’re holding signs up,” he said.
Panhandlers who sit in lanes of traffic, medians and islands not only impede traffic, but they also break the law, Herman said.
“About 2.5 months ago, our guys started going out and letting [the panhandlers] know it’s against the law,” he said. “We have brochures we’ve printed out with resources. We personally take them downtown and book them into the Salvation Army for a bed.”
Repeat offenders are issued a warning before being issued a ticket. If spotted in the roadway again, Herman said the offender will most likely be taken to jail.
“It’s not like we’ve got 500-600 of these folks,” he said. “It’s the same ones doing it. [The road is] just not the place for those folks.”
