HPD is experiencing staffing issues and is warning people not to track stolen property if the case cannot be reviewed

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston police are warning you not to attempt to retrieve your stolen items. They are experiencing staffing problems, which means that not every crime will be evaluated.

Christian Briones recently had his car stolen and now wonders if he will ever get it back.

“It feels like we’re on our own,” Briones said.

Briones went to practice early Monday morning and returned to his stolen car. Fortunately, his wallet, which contained an Apple Air Tag, was in the car.

“I put it in my wallet just to be safe. I feel like people steal wallets all the time or you might lose it somewhere,” Briones said.

He tracked the Air Tag to a home in HPD jurisdiction and called the police. He waited a block away to point out the house to the officers. After ten hours, he says he finally received a call from the police asking if he wanted help.

‘It’s clear. What do you think? I’m carless here and of course I need help,” Briones said.

Briones said that as far as he knew, police still had not done anything in his case. In a recent PSA, HPD said the number of people tracking down their stolen property is increasing and they want people to stop doing so.

“Avoid confronting the suspect, even if you know who it is. Putting yourself in a volatile situation could make things worse,” the HPD video advises.

It’s safe and smart advice that people should follow, but the people ABC13 spoke to aren’t confident they’ll ever get their stuff back if they follow the advice.

“I feel like it’s pointless right now. I feel like it’s not going to happen,” Briones said.

Former acting HPD Chief Larry Satterwhite said earlier this year, during the ongoing suspended cases scandal, that they don’t have the manpower to investigate all property crimes.

“We don’t have enough to commit all the crimes,” Satterwhite said.

According to HPD data, 99,123 property crimes were reported in 2023, but only 5,664, or about 5.7%, were solved. So far this year, there have been 68,671 reports of property crimes, but only 3,648, or about 5.3%, have been solved.

ABC13 asked HPD about cases they were unable to investigate, but they did not answer. They only sent a statement saying:

“The Houston Police Department takes every crime in the city seriously. While we prioritize protecting lives and reducing violent crime, we recognize that the vast majority of crimes reported to HPD are property crimes. Like many law enforcement agencies HPD faces patrol and police staffing issues, which are well documented and directly impact clearance rates, leverage technology and actively collaborate with other agencies and our community to maximize our resources. Prevention is critical , and we encourage citizens to report any crime.

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