Gov. Greg Abbott has announced the creation of the Texas Repeat Offender Program, or TxROP — a new multi-agency task force aimed at cracking down on violent crimes committed by repeat offenders in the Houston area.
“We are putting violent repeat offenders on notice,” Abbott said during a recent news conference. “We are coming for you. We are going to target you, arrest you and put you behind bars where you belong.”
The governor said the initiative, a joint effort between the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Houston Police Department and federal law enforcement agencies, will focus on identifying, tracking and arresting individuals with histories of violent criminal activity.
“This is a Texas-sized effort by both the Texas Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement at every level,” Abbott said. “Our goal is simple: every Houstonian deserves to walk the streets, take their kids to school, open their businesses, and go shopping or dining without fear.”
Under the plan, DPS will deploy assets from its Air Operations, Homeland Security and Criminal Investigations divisions to assist troopers and local officers in field operations, intelligence gathering and covert enforcement. DPS Director Freeman Martin said residents can expect to see “an increased uniform presence and patrol operations in high-crime areas.”
“These saturated patrols have proven effective at reducing crime in Houston and other Texas cities,” Martin said.
Abbott said he chose Houston as the starting point because of the city’s size and “historic relationship” between state and local law enforcement but added that similar task forces could expand statewide.
“It could be rural Texas, urban Texas, suburban Texas — we will look at every corner of the state to make sure we’re making it as safe as possible,” Abbott said. “What we learn here will help us create a national model for public safety in America’s largest cities.”
Abott said he has spoken with Houston Mayor John Whitmire “at least a half-dozen times” about public safety and the need to drive down crime rates.
While some parts of Houston — including downtown and the medical center — have seen increases in certain crimes in recent years, most neighborhoods have experienced declines, according to reports. Greater Greenspoint, for instance, reported nearly a 20 percent drop in crime over the past five years.
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