How we got here
Council members Edward Pollard, Tiffany Thomas and Tarsha Jackson pushed for the ordinance during a May 28 City Council meeting after discussing it with local law enforcement, the Houston Police Officers’ Union and advocacy groups.
Pollard said the city has seen an uptick in stops over the past few years, and a further rise in stops made against Black drivers.
“We want to bring forth this proposal as a way in which to keep our officers safe, as well as to keep the public safe,” Pollard said. “This is one of the rare opportunities where community and police both sat down at the exact same table.”
By the numbers
Houston has seen a rise in traffic stops over the years, with 339,000 traffic stops made in 2023, a significant jump from 2022, which only saw around 267,000, according to the HPD’s annual racial profiling report.
Despite making up only 22% of Houston’s population, 35% of Black drivers made up the most of any demographic of drivers being pulled over in 2023, according to the report.
The details
The city’s code of ordinance currently states: “No person shall willfully fail or refuse to comply with any lawful order, direction or signal, visual or audible, of any police officer or officer of the fire department vested by law with authority to direct, control or regulate traffic.”
Although no city ordinance explicitly states citation quotas, state law prohibits the practice, according to Section 720.002 of the Texas Transportation Code.
With the new ordinance, the code of ordinance will now add: “No police officer shall be directed or required to have a quota on the minimum amount of traffic stops during a normal working shift.”
According to a memo to Mayor John Whitmire's office, Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz rescinded the policy right before City Council approved the ordinance.
“After careful review, we’ve determined that this directive no longer aligns with current best practices for patrol officers,” Diaz wrote in the memo. “New guidance will be distributed to all patrol stations, emphasizing officer discretion. Our commitment to fairness, transparency and public safety while protecting the rights of every resident remains unwavering.”
What they’re saying
Jackson said citation quotas make officers feel pressured to meet that required number, instead of focusing on public safety, which damages the public trust.
“They create environments where performance is measured by the number of tickets written, not by the safety of our streets or the quality of our community,” Jackson said. “Quotas push officers to focus on volume, not value. They strip away the discretion and judgement that policing is built on.”
Whitmire said the traffic stop quotas have not been a practice used by “the current administration or the current police chief,” and instead used by the previous administration and former Police Chief Troy Finner.
Although there’s no date on when the ordinance will take into effect, the ordinance only pertains to the Houston Police Department, according to the ordinance.
