Written by Michael Thervil
When talking about local politics in Houston, you can't help but address the Houston Police Department and how it operates within the City of Houston. For many Houston residents, the Houston Police Department has been pretty damn good to them. And of course, there will always be detractors in any city no matter where you go that swear that their local law enforcement agency has it out for them. Recently, an advocacy group called “We The People Organized” has been attempting to make waves by calling for the Houston Police Chief Troy Finner to step down from his position in lieu of what they are calling a scandal.
The alleged scandal that they are speaking of is centered around the postponement or "suspension" of a little over 4,000 alleged rape cases because of the law enforcement personnel shortage the Houston Police is facing. But to be fair, all law-enforcement agencies across the nation are facing staffing issue. But in the case of Houston Police Chief Troy Finner, many feel that he is being unjustly publicly persecuted due to the severe staffing issues HPD is facing within their ranks. So just who or what is the We The People Organize. Well, if one takes the opportunity to view their website (click here), it appears to be yet another faceless organization, with no names or direct emails for their organization's staff.
In all fairness, whether you like or approve of Chief Troy Finner and his leadership or not, it's not wise to popularize claims of any faceless organization such as We The People Organize, especially when they are advocating for the termination or attempting to put pressure for someone to resign from their job, thus adversely affecting their livelihood. And this is exactly what “organizations” like We The People Organize are doing. With that being said, if you wondering what can be done to help alleviate the staffing issues that not only Houston Police Department but all law-enforcement agencies are facing, you can first start by advocating to change the laws and policies that provide guidelines for the hiring of law-enforcement officers at the state level - not the local level.
But for an organization such as We The People Organize whose four pillars are based on raising awareness, changing laws, safety, and accountability; their actions currently seem to be in direct conflict with its own founding principles. We can say this because it's quite evident that they are unable to raise awareness because they themselves are ignorant of what governing body creates the laws and minimum standards in Texas that all Texas law-enforcement agencies must follow. If they can't determine who and where Texas State Law is created, then this organization can't effectively make any headway to generate any change to any laws in Texas. When it comes to them advocating for safety, what about Chief Finner’s livelihood? It's a known fact that when anyone is faced with economic uncertainty it can compromise even the most well intended person. Remember, the topic of safety isn't always synonymous with crime.
Lastly, touching on their pillar of accountability. It can be said that We The People Organize should be held accountable for their ignorance to how laws are not only written, applied and enforced; but they should be held accountable for attempting to incite fake public outrage over something that Chief Troy Finner simply has no control over.
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