Burglary victim: Police took hours to respond

Sara Howell says she placed multiple 911 calls

HOUSTON – Houston Police promised to find out why a burglary victim had to wait more than four hours for a police officer before she gave up Thursday.

Thieves broke into Sara Howell's home in southwest Houston Thursday night.

"It's scary. It's nerve-racking because I'm sitting out in my car all by myself, and nobody's here to help me," said Howell.

Howell said she immediately called 911 when she got home at about 7 p.m. and noticed that her front door was broken and electronics inside were missing.

Howell said she continued to wait for a response even after a second call to police. She said she called police four hours later.

"At midnight I called back just to cancel the unit because it wasn't going to do us any good to just sit here all night," she said.

Howell said she called police again Friday afternoon. About three hours later, a police officer was dispatched to take her report.

A police spokesperson said there were problems with Howell's call and police are reviewing call logs to figure out what went wrong.

The department spokesperson said the normal response time for a burglary call is 34 minutes.

Houston police said anyone who doesn't get a fast response should call the department's non-emergency number at (713) 881-3131 and ask for a supervisor.