Houston Mayor John Whitmire said the Houston Police Department, for the first time, is recruiting more officers than it is losing to retirement or leaving for other departments.
By the numbers
During a news conference Feb. 23 to kick off the city’s annual March on Crime program, Whitmire gave new recruitment and officer numbers for the Houston Police Department. The March on Crime program emphasizes crime prevention education to residents during the month of March with the goal of reducing crime. Since Whitmire took office, he said:
- 746 cadets have been sworn in since 2024.
- On Feb. 26, HPD will swear in 69 more cadets.
- After this week’s swearing-in, HPD will have 5,453 total officers.
- Response times to Code 1 calls (high-priority, urgent calls) average 5.6 minutes.
“We have unique challenges because of our size, our geographic location and just the whole scope of this great city,” Whitmire said during the conference. “But the great news is we’ve never been in a better position to improve public safety, and we’re just getting started.”
