Sometimes it feels like the Houston Chronicle is trying to help our mayor get reelected.
The Chronicle recently published an article on Houston crime statistics in an effort to prove mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee was wrong when he claimed crime is up in Houston under Mayor Sylvester Turner's time in office. The author of the article made a similar attack against candidate Bill King and also claimed Buzbee was "Fear-mongering" in an effort to beat Turner. The Chronicle based their argument on what many would essentially describe as a guesstimate.
Unfortunately for the Chronicle (and Houston) an overwhelming amount of evidence suggests the author of the article is just wrong (or trying to mislead the Chronicle's readers).
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the annual average number of murders in Houston under Mayor Turner's watch is 282, a 17.3% increase from Mayor Annise Parker's time in office. Rape incidents averaged at 761 annually under Mayor Parker but are now averaging at 1279 annually under Turner (a 68.1% increase). Robbery averaged at 9541 annually under Mayor Parker but rose to 9499 under Turner and aggravated assaulted during Parker's time in office averaged at 11,123 but has now increased to 13,484 (that's a 21.2% increase).***
Before Turner took office crime had been in a long term decline but now that trend has shifted upwards.
This all begs the question: why is the Chronicle opinion staff so eager to defend Turner? They have to live and work in the same city as the rest of us; don't they care about their safety and well being.