The Houston Police Department's social media team captured video this weekend of Mayor John Whitmire on the scene of a raid on an after-hours bar in north Houston, police lights flashing in the background as he stands talking with officers. The effort netted nine arrests, with mostly low-level charges.
The raid is the latest example of the agency's renewed focus on the establishments, which experts say operate in a gray area of the law and often become havens for more serious types of crime.
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Whitmire and Chief Noe Diaz have hosted news conferences and highlighted the raids, but officers have mostly arrested people on charges such as selling alcohol without a permit and driving while intoxicated.
We need to put police in a position where they can do the most good against the most serious types of crimes," said Jay Coons, an assistant professor at Sam Houston State University who retired as a captain at the Harris County Sheriff's Office in 2018. "… Is this the best usage of the limited staffing the police department has?
Officials from the police department declined to provide details about the task force, stating that they were part of ongoing operations aimed at combating the problem.
Need vs. results
The raids and arrests have been carried out by a newly formed after-hours bar task force, which Whitmire and Diaz have promoted. As of May 10, the initiative had completed six raids and made 45 arrests, according to data from the Houston Police Department.
The most common charge to emerge out of those raids was selling alcohol without a license and selling liquor during prohibited hours. One person was charged with felon in possession of a weapon during a raid.
Local law enforcement leaders, including Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, District Attorney Sean Teare, and Chief Diaz, have singled out after-hours bars because of the more serious types of crime In recent months, police have investigated several fatal shootings stemming from after-hours bars, among other issues.
Investigators could aim to arrest and charge those who operate illegal after-hours bars with organized criminal activity – a more serious type of charge – but that would take lengthier investigations and more use of resources, Coons said.
That takes undercovers, you have to run down their finances and where the money is going," Coons said. "It's just like any other kind of organized crime case.
Coons said he's sure police leaders are balancing logistical constraints with a desire to go after the operations, and he's not positive what sort of difference it's making.
"The bad news is, these are reasonably minor crimes," he said. "Operators no doubt look at it as the cost of doing business. And the individuals going to these establishments might not care if they have to pay a fine for public intoxication."
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