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 The security professional and law
enforcement
By Chief Harold Hurtt
HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Houston Police Department is currently reviewing a proposal comparing two software systems that, if implemented, will steer the department toward more integrated communications
between HPD and the various public law enforcement agencies and private security companies in the
area.
The winning software system will be the one poised to tap currently underutilized sources: the area’s 40,000-plus private security workers and 150 law enforcement agencies.
Increased ties with security personnel hold great promise toward improving safety in the city of Houston. With dozens of agencies in the Houston metropolitan area, the work to get communications up and going is set to move HPD well into the future.
In the public sector alone, there are 150 agencies policing the greater Houston area, including sheriff’s offices, federal agencies, municipalities, constable’s offices, police agencies in the suburbs and cities embedded within Houston, and agencies policing colleges and universities.
Partnerships and collaborations have been a part of effective policing for some time. The opportunity to create relationships with security personnel and more effectively utilizing the relationships has promising value. In July, a department store’s corporate security team alerted HPD investigators to a crime ring that netted five arrests and the seizure of nearly $100,000 worth of stolen merchandise. This case demonstrates that more is possible from collaborations with private security.
Security personnel, one must not forget, are just as interested in preventing crime as is law enforcement. The businesses that employ security personnel invest in security services because there is a high risk of loss by robbery, theft, damage or other means.
Intelligence is not a one-way street. Security personnel are extra eyes on the ground and an effective system designed to capture and share what they observe is imminently needed. Additionally, security professionals see the same people frequently and know who belongs and who doesn’t.
A sampling of information sharing can include wanted posters, alerts on crime trends or industry-specific threats.
My vision of increased cooperation will depend on both halves fortifying the relationship.
To be sure, there are legal obstacles to iron out and special-interest situations to be addressed.
For HPD, that first step will consist of a decision regarding the best software system to meet our needs.
It is my position that HPD, like many other municipal police agencies, should continue to strengthen and encourage ties between themselves and the public. Many agencies, including HPD, already have working relationships with civic groups and community leaders.
Houston – and cities across the U.S. – cannot afford to stay complacent when it comes to safety. Staffing shortages continue to be a challenge. Budgets and the economy can quickly affect the extent of policing efforts and the dynamics of crime.
The future holds great promise for a more collaborative relationship between law enforcement and the private security industry.
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