HOUSTON — As violent crime falls in Houston, the city is marking the 39th year of the March on Crime initiative -- a citywide campaign used to educate and inform residents of public safety.
The campaign was created in December 1984, out of growing concern over the rise in violent crime across Houston. The goal is to educate people of all ages on:
- Crime prevention
- Drug awareness
- Crime Stoppers
- Neighborhood Watch
- Personal safety
- Burglary prevention
- Crimes against the elderly
- Juvenile crime
"We all have to work together, and again, last year when those crime numbers shot up so crazy ... I kept telling people just calm down," HPD Chief Troy Finner said. "We got a long year here and the mayor dropped in ‘One Safe Houston’ with all that funding supported by our council members you saw those numbers go down."
Finner went on to admit that crime statistics fluctuate. But the city, including the Mayor, police chief, county sheriff and the district attorney’s office are celebrating the reduction of violent crimes.
According to Mayor Sylvester Turner, the decrease is 22% compared to 2022 year-to-date and a 26% reduction compared to 2021 year-to-date. There’s also a 9% decrease in property crime.
"When you see these numbers going down the way they’re going down ... I wanted to pause and let everybody know that I’m proud," Finner said.