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HPD: task forces and hot-spot teams have made arrests and juvenile rescues on Tidwell–59 corridor
Summary
Houston Police Department said vice units, differential response teams and an evening hot-spot team have arrested dozens and completed juvenile-trafficking rescues in the Tidwell/59 corridor; the northeast division reported 37 arrests in the last 60 days in that corridor and said resources will be targeted where activity shifts.
Houston Police Department officials told residents they are actively targeting prostitution and human trafficking along key corridors and have increased operations in response to shifting activity.
“I can tell you in the last 60 days ... we've had 37 bodies put in jail,” said Captain Jonathan French, captain over HPD’s northeast division, describing enforcement on the Tidwell–59 corridor. French said his division has a differential response team, an evening hot-spot team and close coordination with the vice division to pursue arrests and citations; he said those efforts included rescues of juvenile victims.
French told the forum that as enforcement pushes activity out of one area, it sometimes shifts to nearby streets such as Lyons Avenue, and that officers are adjusting patrols accordingly. He said the department works with Vice and other units, and that community members reporting locations and conditions helps direct enforcement. Harris County juvenile probation staff at the forum also raised concerns about trafficking affecting young girls in the corridor.
French and forum attendees said some motel properties are subject to litigation to seek closures, and that arrests alone can create a cycle where arrested individuals return to the area after release, requiring repeated enforcement and multi-agency responses. HPD said it would continue targeted operations and encouraged residents to report areas of concern directly to HPD.
