Over the past year, the paper reports that even though police have seen an 8 percent drop in violent crimes, they have also recorded a 1.7 percent increase in the number of thefts, and a 1.2 percent rise in burglaries.
"The drivers of the crime rate in the city of Houston are two offenses - burglaries and thefts. They represent at least … 70 percent of the crime in the city of Houston," Houston Police Department executive assistant chief Timothy Oettmeier told the paper
Crime records also show that the city has a poor record of apprehending the culprits in these crimes, which may have been prevented if the homes had an operating home security system. The paper reports that officers clear an arrest in just 8 percent of burglary cases and 15 percent of thefts.
Officers hope the deployment of a new online crime-fighting tool will help them improve that rate, according to the Tribune. Detectives say the LeadsOnline tool allows them to quickly track down leads, and has been instrumental in a number of recent arrests.
