We Need A Harris County Public Safety Summit

In the next few months Harris County Commissioners Court will be appointing a new sheriff once current Sheriff Ed Gonzales is confirmed by the United States Senate to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Hopefully, we make history in Harris County and get the first Black Sheriff in county history. Regardless of who Commissioners end up selecting, I want to encourage them to have the new sheriff convene a countywide Public Safety Summit with all law enforcement agencies across the county-Sheriff’s office, Constables, city police departments, Metro’s police department and the police department of all school districts, colleges, universities and community college systems, Texas Rangers, U.S. Marshall and FBI-to discuss and implement a comprehensive coordinated strategy to help reduce crime all across the county including in every city in Harris County.

Crime and criminals know no boundaries and all law enforcement agencies across our county are being funded by local taxpayers. Artificial boundaries should not stop Harris County law enforcement agencies (and certified Texas Peace Officers) from working together in a much more unified manner to better protect all Harris County residents no matter which city they live in or where in unincorporated Harris County they live.

We are not going to reduce crime in Houston or Harris County unless all of law enforcement works together. No one city or the county or school district or college can do it all alone.

Harris County law enforcement agencies must expand on the Homeland Security Fusion Center model to help increase crime prevention, arrests and clearance rates. This effort must also include shared access to security cameras and in the coming years a joint law enforcement command center similar to TranStar and consideration of a countywide or regional public safety district.

We have to try new ideas to fight crime in our community and better coordination and greater use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) powered technology must be a part of the conversation. Harris County, local law enforcement leadership and our state legislative and congressional delegations must all help lead and contribute to this effort.

Right now, what taxpayers want, need and deserve is results, not people we are paying telling us what is not their responsibility.

We deserve a new Sheriff who will build on what has been done right, but who will also be unafraid to offer leadership in new ways.

To the County Commissioners and Judge Hidalgo: please pick someone for Sheriff who will be able to do more than just operate the county jail.

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BY THE WAY: It may be hot outside right now, but remember the Texas electric grid failed us in the cold. It will get cold again, in Texas. Even worse, we have already been warned by Republican Governor Greg Abbott that the electricity grid may also fail us all during the heat of these summer months. Why isn’t Governor Abbott standing up for Texans to oppose increases in our electric bills? #WeDidn’tBreakTheGrid…The PUC and ERCOT did. Now ERCOT wants us to believe that Texas needs a 60 Point Plan to #FixTheGrid. That’s Crazy. The Texas Coalition of Black Democrats has a One Point Plan to Fix The Grid: FIRE Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton. #BeatAPP. That’s the plan to #FixTheGridandFixTexas.

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Thank you and God Bless Houston. For constructive dialogue, you may contact me directly >>>

Hon. Robinson is the former Chairman, City of Houston Transportation, Technology and Infrastructure Committee; Former Vice Chairman, Houston-Galveston Area Council Transportation Policy Council (H-GAC TPC) and Associate Professor of Public Administration, Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, Texas Southern University.