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The Houston Police Department has been spending months cracking down on illegal after-hours nightclubs across Houston. Now, the Houston Chronicle is asking if it's worth the effort. They recently released an article suggesting that police resources may need to be redirected.
The fact of the matter is though, these clubs are hotbeds for serious and often violent crimes. Andy Kahan with Houston Crime Stoppers spoke to KTRH about this, saying, "They are a detriment to public safety. I don't know why you wouldn't want to see the value in putting pressure on these types of clubs."
He added that even if the raids at these clubs only result in a handful of relatively minor charges, it's still worth the effort to get them shut down. He said, "It's not the actual issue of how many people are arrested, and what they're charged with. It's the fact that these clubs are operating illegally."
KTRH also spoke with Ray Hunt, the executive director of the Houston Police Officers Union about these clubs, and he agreed that getting them shut down is worth the time and resources that task demands.
Hunt also pointed out that HPD is very intentional with how they deploy their resources to these clubs, saying, "Most of these have already been surveilled, and they know exactly what's taking place there. That there is human trafficking taking place, that there are narcotics being sold there. It's not simply that you're selling beer after 2 o'clock."