The Houston police chief has a message to share: “We’re hiring.”
Although there have been police departments defunded around the country, Houston, Texas isn’t one of them. They’re maintaining law and order because it’s the only way to keep citizens protected.
Chief Acevedo has announced that there are approximately 400 positions that need to be filled. Considering the number of departments that have been defunded over the past few months, including Austin PD just a few hours to the north, it should be easy to find the “good people” that are needed.
Communities around the country should listen to Acevedo for a moment. He knows that the country needs more policing, not less. “We’re fortunate we have a mayor and a council … that understands that our community doesn’t want less policing, they don’t want to defund the police, they want better policing and they want good cops.”
Acevedo is even looking to make it easier for some of the out-of-state cops to be hired to the Houston force.
Cops due what they do because they love it. Most cops knew they wanted to protect the streets since the time they were kids. It’s a passion. Those who live in areas where the police departments have been defunded don’t want to go find other jobs. They just want to be cops. More importantly, they want to be cops where cities still want them.
Of course, the Houston police chief only wants those who have had a history of being good officers. Good cops treat citizens properly. Good cops lead to an honorable force – and ensures that the city doesn’t suddenly defund them when bad things happen.
The chief has made the plan to hire out-of-state officers easier: “if you have three years of honorable service, with a good service record and you want to come here, instead of a six-month academy, it’s a 10- week academy.” Additionally, he makes sure that they receive the field training they need. Every officer needs to subscribe to the values of the department and of the city.
Houston is a big city, with a population of around 2.3 million. With the civil unrest that’s taking place around the country, Chief Acevedo wants to make sure he’s prepared. Luckily, he has the support of both the mayor and the city council to be able to do some hiring.
The police chief has clearly thought things over, too. When Fox News & Friend host Will Cain asked Acevedo how he’ll ensure to hire better and not just more officers, the police chief responded with explaining how the hiring, training, and policies and procedures are all critical pieces that are being implemented.
It’s easy to turn on the TV or tune into the online news to see a continuous problem. A few bad apples within a police force can lead to complete and utter chaos. It leads to riots in the streets – especially as Joe Gamaldi, the Houston Fraternal Order of Police’s President identifies that “politicians that don’t have the backbones to stick up to terrorists” in some cities.
Houston is providing more money to the police so that we don’t get the riots in the streets. Houston is committed to ensuring that the country sees that they do have the backbone to stick up to terrorists.
Police Chief Acevedo has this to say to anyone thinking about applying, though: “If you’re going to come here to do the right thing, follow the training that’s provided and actually treat people the way you’d want to treat your own family … then you’re coming to the right place, but if you want to be one of the, I call them the ‘bushels of apples of bad cops’ because there’s more than just a few bad cops, don’t come to Houston.”
When all else fails, we can always turn to major cities like Houston to show that there’s a ray of hope in how the country can do things right.
