NCJ Number
83490
Date Published
Unknown
Length
78 pages
Annotation
Various political regimes' priorities and activities, particularly in the area of criminal justice, are examined for Houston, Tex., from 1948 to the present mayoral administration (assumed office in 1978).
Abstract
Crime did not become an important issue in Houston until the last years of the Louie Welch administration (1964-1973), and even then, it was primarily a problem for minorities. Houston's ranking as the number one city for homicides in the United States did little but stir the city to a perverse pride in this fulfillment of its image as a city of untamed frontier individualism. Crime never became an important issue for the dominant white community to the extent that government was ever pressured to do something to resolve the problem. The major police issue from 1948-1978 has been police-minority relations more than crime itself. Crimefighting has been left to the police bureaucrats, and the typical police response to crime increases has been to blame lenient judges and call for an increase in police officers. The most forceful advocate of change in the criminal justice system came under District Attorney Carol Vance (1966-1978). He consistently demanded more courts, more prosecutors, more police, higher salaries, speedier trials, stiffer sentences, tougher jurors, tighter bond requirements, a crackdown on juvenile crime, emphasis on career criminals, and a revising of the State criminal code. An addendum provides explanations for why crime has not become a central issue in the politics of Houston. Seven references are listed. (Author summary modified)