HOUSTON – The Houston Police Department has received a lot of backlash after admitting to suspending more than 200,000 cases due to a lack of personnel.
The department revealed that around 264,000 cases, constituting roughly 10% of its total caseload over the past eight years, had been suspended across various HPD divisions due to manpower shortages. Alarmingly, among these cases were over 4,000 incidents of sexual assault.
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Finner said the code indicating a case is suspended due to lack of personnel should have never been used and will never be used again.
On Feb. 22, Finner announced the internal review that revealed at least 4,017 sexual assault cases were suspended under the code. Those cases will be the Houston Police Department’s top priority, according to Finner.
Now, if you’re wondering if your case could be one of the thousands that were suspended, here’s how you can check:
1. Incident Report Number
An incident report number, also known as a police report number or case number, serves as a unique identifier assigned to each report filed with law enforcement agencies. This will help the Houston Police Department quickly find your case and identify the latest updates.
If you don’t have your incident report number, HPD should be able to look up your case using your personal information or ID number.
2. Who to Contact
To check on your case, you can contact the Houston Police Department’s Sexual Assault Information line by emailing specialvictimsreport@houstonpolice.org or calling them at 713-208-1400 or 713-308-1180.
Additional resources:
HPD’s Juvinelle Sex Crimes Unit - 713-731-5356
HPD’s Adult Crime Unit - 713-308-1180
Houston Area Women’s Center Sexual Assault Hotline - 713-528-7273
United Way Helpline - 211 or 713-957-4357
National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) - 1800-656-4673
Although the suspended sexual assault cases are the department’s priority at the moment, victims in other cases can contact the Houston Police Department at 713-884-3131.
3. What’s next
Since the “SL” coded cases were made public, Finner is conducting an internal investigation into the suspended cases. Also, in wake of learning that Finner may have known about the suspended cases since 2021, newly-elected Houston Mayor John Whitmire is also conducting his own independent investigation into the Houston Police Department and the scandal.
Finner said he has since developed a team, which includes members of the department’s special victims unit, two commanders, a case management lieutenant, a second lieutenant, three sergeants and 20 investigators. They will review cases, contact victims, conduct follow-up interviews and properly code incident reports.
Finner said additional victim advocates will also be assigned. He assured that his team will investigate every case.
It’s not clear what exactly will come out of the investigation, but so far, according to the Houston Police Union, two assistant police chiefs with HPD have been demoted.
Victims who have since changed their contact information after filing a police report should send their new contact information to specialvictimsreport@houstonpolice.org.