300 ARRESTED THIS MONTH IN HPD INITIATIVE

A police crackdown that dispersed 100 officers per day to five
high-risk apartment complexes has netted more than 300 arrests since
the program began earlier this month, authorities said.

"Houston is not safe for criminals, and we're making it much less safe
for criminals every single day," Mayor Bill White said Tuesday at a
news conference to announce the preliminary results.

The Strategic Tactical Operation Program is the latest initiative
rolled out by the Houston Police Department to curb rising crime rates
in southwest Houston.

"The overall goal of (STOP) is to direct resources where they are most
needed; saturate the area; and actively engage in crime suppression,
criminal apprehension and the restoration of order," said HPD Capt.
M.E. Lentschke .

More than 600 criminal charges were filed since June 2, police said,
when the additional contingent of HPD officers began patrolling the
targeted apartment communities.

Houston City Council member Anne Clutterbuck, who said her
Fondren-area district has endured insufficient police coverage in the
past, was encouraged by HPD's latest program to flood the area with
additional officers.

"I think it's a very positive step," Clutterbuck said.

"The good police officers that serve our city are out there working
very hard -- trying to do their job and protect the city."

Along with dramatically increasing their uniformed police presence
along the southwest Houston corridor, HPD officials also sent teams of
investigators into the apartment blocks.

"It shows we're serious," Clutterbuck said. "I'm delighted to see the
police department putting their resources behind their
commitment."

Beginning in late May, the undercover officers made 185 felony arrests
and 124 misdemeanor arrests -- including nine that have been connected
to gang activity. More than 1,400 grams of cocaine also were
confiscated during the roundup, along with large quantities of
marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine, police said.

"We've also seized 12 guns in this three-week time frame," Capt. D.R.
McKinney said. "This is an ongoing initiative that will continue to
use undercover narcotics, vice, burglary and theft, gang and major
offenders officers as we see fit."

Chief Harold Hurtt said some criminals might begin filtering into the
surrounding areas as police pressure in the apartment blocks mounts.

"We are also going to be concentrating on the perimeters of the
apartment complexes as well," Hurtt said.

Houston City Council member Adrian Garcia said officers assigned to
the southwest Houston efforts were doing "a phenomenal job under tough
circumstances.

"But they get the job done. That's just what I would expect," said
Garcia, chairman of the city council's public safety and homeland
security committee.

"You give them a task (and) they are going to go out there and put
their heads together and figure out the best way to do it," Garcia
said.

The initiatives, though welcome, are only a temporary fix. Recruiting
more officers is the long-term solution, Garcia said.

"We know what it takes to keep neighborhoods safe, and that's boots on
the ground," Garcia said.

White pledged that the stepped-up police efforts would continue as
long as necessary.

"Until I see the drop in the violent crime rates ... we're going to
put the resources that we need to within these districts," White said.
"We won't always advertise it. We want to keep the criminals guessing."