In Houston, we're witnessing preliminary usage of Rahm's Rule in relation to the recent HPD scandal.
20,000 Criminal Cases not Investigated in 2013 by HPD. James Pinkerton, Mike Morris. Houston Chronicle.com
This story is behind the Chron's pay wall so I'm going to quote sparingly with the usual caveat that you should go and read the entire article.
"We investigate everything we have the capacity to investigate,"[Mayor Annise] Parker said. "We need more police officers. The only way we can have more police officers is to have more tax revenue to pay for them."
According to the article, the report coming out now was originally requested by current City Council Member and former HPD Chief of Police from 1997-2004, C.O. Bradford shortly after taking office in 2010. This report only covered results of cases filed in 2013, but an additional Chronicle investigative series seems to suggest that the non-investigation of criminal activity is systemic in HPD and goes back several years. Of course, there was a review and some scalps were claimed but, for the most part, bucks have now been passed and a majority of the blame has been placed on "rogue" employees and out-of-date electronics. Nowhere in these cases was it mentioned that the impending doom of the revenue cap was a culprit.
Until now.
Now we have converging crises and politicians with an understanding of Rahm's rule as well as a willingness to use it.
The problem with this argument is that it doesn't provide the entire picture. If you take a look at the HPD Org Chart available on-line you find an extremely large amount of staff placed in what can be described as administrative positions, and very few departments out actually doing police work. In fact, HPD is organized more like a professional services company than a public safety entity. This is not to say that needs such as professional development are not important, but does it really have a need for four separate units and captains?
I'm not sure of the answer on that, maybe it does. The problem caused by sweeping everything under the "more revenue is needed" umbrella is that these questions are not being asked. What's missing from the org chart is the distribution of officers within the respective commands. Even IF the argument for all of the units and captains can be made, is the department allocating resources effectively? Again, we don't know because the City is taking a page out of the playbook of the old Mrs. White* and choosing to just call for rolling out the catapult and hurling large amounts of money at an ill-defined problem.
Now the bad news. Unless Houston is really serious about taking a look at HPD operations, organization and spending, things are going to get worse not better. Even IF voters agree to roll-back the originator-of-all-city-problems, hoped reviver of Chris Bell's political career, and example (In Bell and Parker's eyes) of voter stupidity that is the revenue cap the City Council and Mayor Parker have just placed a huge investigative load on the department in the form of the Grand Urinal Bargain of 2014 which led to the passage of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.
You see, after the bargain, HPD will also be responsible for investigating claims of discrimination filed by members of the various groups now offered protection. If they can't handle their responsibility of handling the investigation of life, personal injury and property crimes how in the word are they going to handle investigations in the often he/she said vs. he/she** said world of discrimination claims?
Mayor Parker and Co. can roll out the biggest of catapults and hurl the largest amounts of money at the problem and there will be no success in closing the gap because Houston continues to dig a deeper hole. How long before that hole starts swallowing up the poor and middle class, forcing them to move outside of the City?
*Mrs. White: The name I gave the Houston Chronicle Editorial board back in 2006 because they always stood by their man.
**It's he/she not he-she. In other words, either or. Not a transgendered slam for those of you looking for scalps for that.
