Houston

===Crime===
{{main|Crime in Houston}}
[[File:HoustonPoliceDeptHQ.JPG|thumb|Houston Police Department headquarters]]
Houston's crime rate is one of the top three in Texas and notably higher than the national average.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cw33.com/news/local/these-are-the-11-most-dangerous-cities-in-texas-dallas-and-houston-listed/ | title=These are the 11 most dangerous cities in Texas— Dallas and Houston listed | date=April 14, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://realestate.usnews.com/places/texas/houston/crime |title=Houston, TexasCrime Rate & Safety |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=April 3, 2024}}</ref> Houston's murder rate jumped significantly since 2020.  In 2021, nearly 500 people were murdered in the city which was almost double the murdered count in 2019.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.khou.com/article/news/increased-gang-activity-leads-to-spike-of-violent-crime-in-dallas/285-442103737 | title=Increased gang activity leads to spike of violent crime in Dallas | date=May 23, 2017 }}</ref> Rising gang activity is blamed for the increased crime rates in the city.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.khou.com/article/news/freemoney-gang-arrests/285-6e0126aa-f607-4cdb-9b04-fd5e5c04724e | title=Houston crime crackdown leads to bust of 'very violent' Freemoney gang members | date=October 24, 2022 }}</ref> Houston leaders are continually discussing and implementing strategies to combat crime in the city.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://abc13.com/houston-safety-crime-mayor-john-whitmire-police/14272959/ | title=Mayor Whitmire meets with Houston leaders in law enforcement in collaboration to tackle crime | date=January 4, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/criminal-justice/2022/08/17/430995/county-leaders-unveil-150-million-public-safety-initiative-to-reduce-violent-crime-across-the-region/ | title=Harris County leaders unveil $150 million public safety initiative to reduce violent crime across region | date=August 17, 2022 }}</ref>

Houston is a significant hub for trafficking of [[cocaine]], [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]], heroin, [[MDMA]], and [[methamphetamine]] due to its size and proximity to major illegal drug exporting nations.<ref>[http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs32/32771/distribution.htm "Distribution – Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis 2009"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725040338/http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs32/32771/distribution.htm |date=July 25, 2009 }} ''[[U.S. Department of Justice]]''. Retrieved on August 11, 2009.</ref>

In the early 1970s, Houston, [[Pasadena, Texas|Pasadena]] and several coastal towns were the site of the [[Dean Corll|Houston mass murders]], which at the time were the deadliest case of [[serial killing]] in American history.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Crime: The Houston Horrors |magazine=Time |date=August 20, 1973 |access-date=May 2, 2010 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907718-1,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100924032209/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907718-1,00.html |archive-date=September 24, 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Residents of Houston Curbing Murder Talk |work=[[Beaver County Times]] |date=August 16, 1973 |access-date=May 2, 2010 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D4MkAAAAIBAJ&pg=4597,220911 |via=[[Google News Archive]]}}</ref>

In 1853, the first execution in Houston took place in public at Founder's Cemetery in the [[Fourth Ward, Houston|Fourth Ward]]; initially, the cemetery was the execution site, but post-1868 executions took place in the jail facilities.<ref>{{cite web |author=Pando, Patricia |url=https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/pando-fourh-ward.pdf |title=Two Worlds a Mile Apart: A Brief History of the Fourth Ward |publisher=Houston History Magazine |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=37–41 |access-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906103452/http://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/pando-fourh-ward.pdf |archive-date=September 6, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2023, the city of Houston made enforcement of an anti-food sharing ordinance a priority. This has resulted in volunteers receiving over 80 tickets, and a federal lawsuit to be filed against the city of Houston.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pitcher |first=Michelle |date=2023-08-31 |title=A Courtroom Drama About Feeding Unhoused Houstonians |url=https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-food-not-bombs-trial/ |website=The Texas Observer |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240114171044/https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-food-not-bombs-trial/ |archive-date= January 14, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-01 |title='It's not fair': Group feeding the homeless outside Houston Public Library hit with 29 citations |url=https://abc13.com/food-not-bombs-houston-homeless-volunteer-group-cited-city-of-public-library-for/13325575/ |first1=Mycah |last1=Hatfield |website=ABC13 Houston |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240222021041/https://abc13.com/food-not-bombs-houston-homeless-volunteer-group-cited-city-of-public-library-for/13325575/ |archive-date= Feb 22, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/us/houston-food-not-bombs-fined-feeding-homeless.html|title=Houston Volunteers Fight Tickets for Serving Meals to Homeless People|work=The New York Times |date=August 6, 2023 |url-access=subscription |first1=Amanda |last1=Holpuch |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104134638/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/us/houston-food-not-bombs-fined-feeding-homeless.html |archive-date= Jan 4, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/04/texas-volunteers-fined-feeding-homeless-heat|title=Houston volunteers face thousands in fines for feeding homeless|website=The Guardian |date=August 4, 2023 |last1=Sainato |first1=Michael |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240214104152/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/04/texas-volunteers-fined-feeding-homeless-heat |archive-date= February 14, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Garcia |first=Evan |date=May 11, 2023 |title=In Houston, homelessness volunteers are in a stand-off with city authorities |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/houston-homelessness-volunteers-are-stand-off-with-city-authorities-2023-05-11/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230511225105/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/houston-homelessness-volunteers-are-stand-off-with-city-authorities-2023-05-11/ |archive-date=11 May 2023 |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>