Category Archives: HISD PD

Police Department’s CORE team to promote relational policing

To shed the negative image that often comes with wearing a badge, HISD Police Chief Pedro Lopez Jr. is following the lead of police chiefs nationwide to bring relational policing into HISD classrooms and neighborhoods.

That idea, along with a recent significant boost in department funding, paved the way for the district’s new police community outreach team CORE (Community Outreach Responsive Engagement).

“We are determined to go out into the communities, build back those relationships and bridge that gap that has increasingly widened with what has been happening throughout the country,” said HISD Police Officer Steven Bennett, who is one of the six officers serving on the CORE team. “We just want to get out there and do everything we can to repair this relationship between the community and law enforcement.”

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D.A.R.E. program returns to district with HISD PD training program

The Houston Independent School District announced the return of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program to select HISD schools at a press conference on Monday.

“I am so very excited about D.A.R.E. returning to HISD,” Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “We are determined to ensure that all students not only receive a quality education but that they come to school not under the influence and prepared to receive that quality education.”

In partnership with state Rep. Jarvis Johnson, D.A.R.E. America, the HISD Police Department, and the Houston Police Department, the program will initially train 35 HISD PD officers and seven HPD officers on teaching evidence-based prevention education curricula to students.

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New HISD chief of police sworn in during ceremony

The Houston Independent School District’s new police chief, Pedro “Pete” Lopez, Jr. was sworn in Tuesday during an official ceremony where he took the oath of office at the district’s Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center.

The chief’s wife took part in the ceremonial badge-pinning portion of the event. Houston Municipal Courts Director and Presiding Judge J. Elaine Marshall administered the oath of office.

Lopez comes to HISD after 32 years of law enforcement experience, with 29 of those years spent serving the Houston Police Department, where he rose from the rank of patrol officer to assistant chief of Patrol Region 1. He has also served with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department and Texas Department of Corrections.

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HISD names Houston law enforcement veteran as new police chief

The Houston Independent School District has named Pedro Lopez Jr., a Houston Police Department assistant chief with 32 years of experience, as the new chief of the HISD Police Department.

Lopez has spent 29 of his 32 years in law enforcement with HPD, moving up the ranks from patrol officer to his current position as the assistant chief for Patrol Region 1. He has also served with the Harris County Sheriff’s Department and Texas Department of Corrections.

“We are fortunate to have a law enforcement veteran with the experience, training and expertise of Chief Lopez join our district and lead our police department of more than 200 officers,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “We know he will do a great job protecting our students, staff and campuses as we work to educate, train and support our global scholars.”

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HISD Community Partnerships, HISD Police Department play key roles in food distribution

Feeding more than 10,000 families five days a week during a pandemic is no easy task. It’s an effort that requires the collaboration of multiple departments across the district to bring it all together.

In just over a month, HISD — working together with the Houston Food Bank — has distributed 2 million pounds of food to more than 60,000 families. That range spans from March 14 through April 18.

“I appreciate the spotlight we’ve received, but it’s not just us,” HISD Nutrition Services Officer Betti Wiggins said, referencing the child nutrition department she leads. “We couldn’t have accomplished this without the help of Community Partnerships and HISD Police.”

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HISD, Houston Food Bank distribute over 280,000 pounds of food Saturday at NRG

When HISD Nutrition Services Senior Operations Manager Keith Lewis drove up to NRG Stadium Saturday for the massive food distribution effort, he wasn’t nervous. He was excited.

As he walked up to NRG Stadium’s yellow parking lot site and saw cars wrapped around the block, his excitement grew.

“I knew we had a team of Nutrition Services employees that were going to show up and rock it,” Lewis said. “It’s what we do every single day.”

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HISD Police Department to host public forum as part of national re-accreditation process

HISD PD is nation’s only accredited school district law enforcement agency

The Houston Independent School District Police Department and a team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) will host a public forum as part of the department’s re-accreditation process.

The HISD Police Department became the first school district law enforcement agency in the nation to achieve CALEA accreditation in 2008. This year, the department is seeking its eighth renewal.

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Interim Superintendent holds school safety meeting with Bellaire HS students

HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan joined HISD Police Chief Paul Cordova and other district leaders on Thursday at Bellaire High School for a discussion with a group of students to discuss safety and security concerns. 

Lathan said the district will explore additional safety and security steps to help students feel safer and more secure. 

After the meeting, which was attended by about 20 students, Lathan met with local media and announced that the district will immediately begin exploring additional security steps, including the installation of metal detectors on some campuses across the district.  

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HISD Police Department swears in new sergeants, captain and officers

The Houston Independent School District Police Department hosted a ceremony Wednesday to recognize the promotions of one new captain, four new sergeants and to swear in four new officers.

The celebration, which was held at the High School for Law and Justice for the officers and their families, honored the new captain, sergeants, and new officers, all who were sworn in at the event. HISD Police Chief Paul Cordova offered some words of wisdom at the start of the pinning ceremony.

“Before stepping foot on the campus, some of our students deal with challenges and issues that we can’t even imagine,” Cordova said. “You may be the first face they see and let it be with a warm smile and a bit of compassion because it may make all the difference in the world.”

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HISD student recognized for taking swift action to help woman in distress

Baylor College of Medicine Biotech Academy at Rusk sixth-grader Joziah Crenshaw was honored at a surprise recognition ceremony on Tuesday after he took swift action when he saw a mother and child in a potentially dangerous situation. 

Joziah was honored with a Citizenship Award from HISD Police for alerting authorities after he saw a distressed mother across the street from his school who had inadvertently locked her baby in the car.   

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