In 2016 and 2017, Mayor Sylvester Turner commissioned two major reports that address police reform. The Mayor’s Transition Committee on Criminal Justice was composed of 26 community leaders, elected officials, academics, and criminal justice reform advocates. It made eight recommendations for reform in March 2016.
In 2017, the administration hired a municipal finance consulting firm, PFM, to produce “A 10-Year Plan for the City of Houston: A Plan for Fiscal Sustainability and Economic Growth.” The document is almost 200 pages long and makes recommendations for shrinking costs while raising revenue to build a city for the future. The plan cost $565,000 to author and was presented to the City Council in February 2018.
Because more than 75% of Houston’s general fund city employees are dedicated to public safety, the report highlights savings that can be achieved through police reform and makes recommendations for investments in crime prevention through public services. These two reports, commissioned by Mayor Turner’s administration, contain a road map in some of the key areas that are required for police reform, including right-sizing the police budget.
Below are some of the key recommendations from both reports and their status as of June 2020:
