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Record of Proceedings

Public Safety Briefing from Metro Police Department - September 9, 2025

Committees and Commissions — Tuesday, September 9, 2025
BodyHouston, Texas
SessionCommittees and Commissions
DateTuesday, September 9, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 58:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:22

Councilmember Kaman and Councilmember Mary Nan Huffman and in Chambers we are joined by staff from Councilmember Cayman's office.

0:34

And Councilmember Ramirez's office.

0:37

I got everyone in Mayor Perdem staff is online.

0:41

And um Mayor Pro Tem Cassex Tatum's office is online as well.

0:47

So today we have one presentation.

0:49

It will be a public safety briefing from Metro Police Department.

0:53

Chief, if you want to come forward.

0:59

And if you want to make any introductions before you get started.

1:08

Committee Chair and Council members, um staff.

1:11

We're um we're delighted to be here.

1:14

This is uh a terrific opportunity for us to showcase some of the things we're doing, and we look forward to um the to the star of the show, Chief Ten to make a few comments.

1:23

But uh first I just wanted to uh highlight a few things before he gets in into his presentation, if you don't mind.

1:30

Um we have um uh about a year.

1:35

We'll raise it up a little bit.

1:36

Is that good?

1:37

Yes, this is much better.

1:38

Thank you.

1:39

So about a year and a half ago, Metro was faced with the dilemma about um public confidence in our system, and we had to make a decision as to a path forward.

1:50

Do we do we continue down um a path of um of assuming that things will get better, or do we stretch specifically address it?

2:00

And I'm I'm um here to tell you we went back to basics.

2:04

We focused on uh a safer, cleaner, more reliable, and more accessible system.

2:10

We call that Metro now.

2:12

In in doing so, we have seen um a steady rebirth, if you will, of our um regular ridership.

2:21

We are approaching numbers that are uh above COVID uh most of the system.

2:26

It's kind of weird how it's developing.

2:29

Some uh some routes are different than others as far as what existed before and what it is today.

2:34

But we're very uh fortunate in having um uh the opportunity to regrow and um and I have to say we're one of the leaders in the nation.

2:44

We are about seven percent above the national average as far as rebuilding ridership.

2:48

There are um things you'll see in the news that are happening in different transit systems across the country where there are uh many of them facing financial crisis, uh financial cliffs, they call them.

2:59

We're not in that situation.

3:01

We are uh we have sound financial footing.

3:03

We are um uh you know focused on uh basically rebuilding.

3:09

We're buying new buses, we're buying new shelters, we're buying new facilities to help to help uh uh address our needs for um growing and and changing the way our police forces is uh out and about.

3:22

So you'll see um Metro looking to a little bit of a different posture in the future with uh a decentralized um uh focus on where we operate out of.

3:32

Uh those are a few of the of the high points.

3:35

Um I really want to hand it over to the star of the show here, Chief Tan.

3:40

But um we're backing them up financially.

3:42

We're putting uh more and more resources into our police efforts.

3:48

We're hiring.

3:49

We have we are at uh we have exceeded our objective this year for hiring, and we're adding additional piece um uh positions for next year.

3:58

And um, you know, we we have got to make sure that the system is um safe, appears safe, and appears clean, and and is reliable, and that's where we're at right now.

4:09

So with that, I'll turn it over to the chief to make his presentation.

4:12

And Chief, before you start, Mr.

4:14

Jason, thank you so much um for your comments.

4:16

Councilmember Alcran, did you want to ask a question now or wait till the just real quick?

4:20

Um, thank you.

4:22

Thank you for that.

4:22

I've noticed the stops.

4:24

The stops are so nice.

4:26

I mean, the new ones are just look so good.

4:28

The ADA accessibility has been a huge thing.

4:31

You got made great strides on that.

4:33

Uh the the things that people care most about and studies and other things is is increased frequency.

4:40

And I know you've increased frequency on several lines.

4:44

And I think that has a ton to do with the increase in ridership because it's been a pretty significant increase in ridership over the last year, right?

4:52

I mean, do you have numbers on that?

4:54

Very significant.

4:55

We're um like how many additional riders are so uh it's about five percent, and um, and so we're up to now about 75 million riders a year.

5:00

So uh it's about five percent, and um, and so we're up to now about 75 million riders a year.

5:04

Okay.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████64%
Public Transit████████████████████29%
Homelessness████5%
Transportation Planning█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Safety Briefing from Metro Police Department - September 9, 2025

The Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Councilmember Kaman, received a presentation from Metro Police Chief Ben Ten on public safety initiatives, ridership recovery, and future plans. The meeting included councilmembers from Districts A, C, D, G, H, I, J, and K, along with Metro staff. The chief highlighted improvements in safety, cleanliness, and community partnerships, with councilmembers expressing support and raising concerns about jurisdictional boundaries, homeless outreach, and FIFA World Cup preparations.

Discussion Items

  • Ridership and System Improvements: Metro reported a 5% increase in ridership over the past year, reaching approximately 75 million riders annually, and noted they are 7% above the national average in ridership recovery. Councilmember Alcorn praised increased frequency on several lines and ADA accessibility improvements. Metro Chair Jason explained that road repair work is financed through Metro revenue and federal grants, with no debt issued in eight years.
  • Police Staffing and Decentralization: Chief Ten stated that Metro PD has achieved full staffing of approximately 200 frontline officers out of a total of 270–280 personnel, with plans to grow to 220–230 frontline officers. The department is developing satellite substations and a mobile command post (expected delivery Q2 2026) to decentralize operations and improve response times across 1,300 square miles covering four counties.
  • Homeless Outreach and Care Unit: The department operates a care unit with six clinicians averaging 200 contacts per week, and plans to double the unit and expand into evening hours. Chief Ten described a three-category approach to homelessness: downtrodden, drug-dependent, and mental health-related, with efforts focused on connecting individuals to shelters, medical care, and long-term housing through partnerships with the homeless coalition.
  • FIFA World Cup Preparation: Chief Ten confirmed that Metro PD is working with HPD as the lead agency, increasing staffing projections, and planning for 100% deployment during the 2026 World Cup. Councilmember Davis emphasized the importance of public safety for tourists and residents.
  • Platform Safety and Enforcement: Councilmembers discussed platform barriers (e.g., paid entry ticketing) and HOV lane enforcement. Councilmember Flickinger raised concerns about HOV enforcement locations causing traffic congestion on US 59; Chief Ten acknowledged the issue and committed to addressing it.
  • Data and Community Engagement: Vice Chair Jackson requested district-level incident data and information on community engagement initiatives. Chief Ten agreed to develop products for councilmembers but noted the need for time to build appropriate metrics. Councilmember Ramirez's office requested details on requesting the care unit for specific incidents.

Key Outcomes

  • Chief Ten committed to providing councilmembers with crime statistics and incident data by council district, though acknowledged it would take time to build the product.
  • The chief promised to address the HOV enforcement location issue identified by Councilmember Flickinger, stating it is a "people problem" he will correct.
  • Chief Ten directed that specific locations of homeless concerns (e.g., at bus stops near senior centers) be compiled and sent to his team for immediate attention, including Wheeler station and Fannin area.
  • No formal votes were taken; the meeting was informational. The next committee meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 10:00 AM.

Meeting Transcript

Councilmember Kaman and Councilmember Mary Nan Huffman and in Chambers we are joined by staff from Councilmember Cayman's office. And Councilmember Ramirez's office. I got everyone in Mayor Perdem staff is online. And um Mayor Pro Tem Cassex Tatum's office is online as well. So today we have one presentation. It will be a public safety briefing from Metro Police Department. Chief, if you want to come forward. And if you want to make any introductions before you get started. Committee Chair and Council members, um staff. We're um we're delighted to be here. This is uh a terrific opportunity for us to showcase some of the things we're doing, and we look forward to um the to the star of the show, Chief Ten to make a few comments. But uh first I just wanted to uh highlight a few things before he gets in into his presentation, if you don't mind. Um we have um uh about a year. We'll raise it up a little bit. Is that good? Yes, this is much better. Thank you. So about a year and a half ago, Metro was faced with the dilemma about um public confidence in our system, and we had to make a decision as to a path forward. Do we do we continue down um a path of um of assuming that things will get better, or do we stretch specifically address it? And I'm I'm um here to tell you we went back to basics. We focused on uh a safer, cleaner, more reliable, and more accessible system. We call that Metro now. In in doing so, we have seen um a steady rebirth, if you will, of our um regular ridership. We are approaching numbers that are uh above COVID uh most of the system. It's kind of weird how it's developing. Some uh some routes are different than others as far as what existed before and what it is today. But we're very uh fortunate in having um uh the opportunity to regrow and um and I have to say we're one of the leaders in the nation. We are about seven percent above the national average as far as rebuilding ridership. There are um things you'll see in the news that are happening in different transit systems across the country where there are uh many of them facing financial crisis, uh financial cliffs, they call them. We're not in that situation. We are uh we have sound financial footing. We are um uh you know focused on uh basically rebuilding. We're buying new buses, we're buying new shelters, we're buying new facilities to help to help uh uh address our needs for um growing and and changing the way our police forces is uh out and about. So you'll see um Metro looking to a little bit of a different posture in the future with uh a decentralized um uh focus on where we operate out of. Uh those are a few of the of the high points. Um I really want to hand it over to the star of the show here, Chief Tan. But um we're backing them up financially. We're putting uh more and more resources into our police efforts. We're hiring. We have we are at uh we have exceeded our objective this year for hiring, and we're adding additional piece um uh positions for next year. And um, you know, we we have got to make sure that the system is um safe, appears safe, and appears clean, and and is reliable, and that's where we're at right now. So with that, I'll turn it over to the chief to make his presentation. And Chief, before you start, Mr. Jason, thank you so much um for your comments. Councilmember Alcran, did you want to ask a question now or wait till the just real quick? Um, thank you. Thank you for that. I've noticed the stops. The stops are so nice. I mean, the new ones are just look so good.

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