‘A lot of uptick in violence': Homicide rate increases in Houston, Chief Acevedo says

HOUSTON – Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said the city could see a five-year high in the number of murders, if the current trend of cases continues.

“We went from the last two years being towards five-year lows to a five-year high is what we’re projecting,” Acevedo said.

Houston Police Department records show there have been 178 murders from January through June of this year. This is a 37% increase in the number of murders seen during the same time last year.

“We know there’s been a lot of uptick in violence in terms of the drug trafficking and murders related to drug trafficking and the drug market,” Acevedo said.

As he has before, Acevedo also blamed bail reform for allowing what he said are violent, repeat offenders being allowed to cycle in and out of jail on low bonds. However, Acevedo did not point to one single factor as being the main reason behind the increase in homicide cases.