Harris County Commissioners are considering approving COVID-19 relief money to fund additional " TeleDeputy Unit officers."
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|Houston Chronicle
By Kennedy Sessions
Harris County Sheriff's Office is requesting $1.7 million in American Rescue Plan funding to increase overtime officers at the county's TeleDeputy Unit at the Emergency Dispatch Center (EDC), which is in charge of responding to calls that don't require an on-scene law enforcement response, according to county records.
According to the Sheriff's Department, the TeleDeputy Unit aims to decrease police officers' response times across the board and, specifically, respond via phone to family violence calls. Harris County Sheriff's office said response time across the county has increased due to population growth, traffic saturation, staffing, and increased calls, averaging about 16 minutes and 21 seconds. The police response time average has increased by almost three minutes since 2019, which averaged around 13 minutes and 32 seconds, the department notes.
"All Priority 3 & 4 calls for service that are eligible for TeleDeputy (not requiring an on-scene law enforcement response) will be routed to the unit, ultimately allowing patrol deputies to focus on higher-priority calls with a faster response time," the county said.
According to HCSO, the department responded to nearly 411,000 calls in 2022, with 58.7 percent of those calls being Priority 3 or 4 and involving family violence incidents. It's unclear what emergency calls would not require an on-scene officer or how those calls are distinguished.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office did not respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
The county sheriff's department is also seeking an agreement between county commissioners and the HCSO to use ARPA funding for reentry programs at the Women's Empowerment Center.
Harris County Commissioners will call a vote on both agenda items at the next commissioner's court meeting on Tuesday, June 27.