The Houston Police Department halted more than 260,000 investigations between 2016 and 2023 due to a lack of personnel. Now, department leaders state they are working to catch up on those investigations, particularly the 4,017 rape cases that were delayed. Police officials were surprised by the frequency of the “S.L.” tag, indicating “Suspended–Lack of Personnel,” on cases after a home invasion and sexual assault in September 2023. Evidence from that scene matched a rape kit from a September 2022 assault. Detectives discovered that the earlier case had been marked S.L. despite the victim providing detailed information about her attacker.
The article Brickbat: No Need To Hurry was originally published on Reason.com.
