Ten years after receiving his Master’s degree in Sociology from UH, Charles A. McClelland, Jr. was sworn in as the new chief of the Houston Police Department. | Courtesty of the Office of the Chief of Police
Executive Assistant Chief Charles McClelland was sworn in to replace Harold Hurtt as new police chief of the Houston Police Department on April 14.
The decision was announced by Mayor Annise Parker just before the new year.
A veteran of the HPD, McClelland said he was humbled by Parker’s choice and that he looks forward to overseeing people who are devoted to protecting and serving Houston citizens.
“It has been a tremendous honor to start my career out as a police cadet and rise through the ranks and become chief of police,” McClelland said. “I feel very fortunate. It’s the capstone of my police career and this will be the last job I’ll ever have at the HPD.”
McClellan said some of his goals are to promote communication within the force and the community.
“I want to increase police community relationships and strengthen that,” he said. “There are a lot of ideas that men and women throughout the ranks have and I need to find an avenue for them to give me ideas on how to be more efficient.”
McClelland did not grow up with a desire to be a police officer. Instead he stumbled into a law enforcement career out of necessity.
“I was probably like most other 20-year-olds at the time that was looking for something stable, something I could be proud of and something that would at least put the food on the table,” he said. “My brother-in-law was a Houston police officer so he’s actually the one, I guess he’s the one, that gets credit for recruiting me and motivating me for looking at the HPD for a career.”
McClelland is an UH alumnus. He earned his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in criminology in 1998 and received a Master’s degree for sociology in 2000. Both degrees are mandatory in his career. In order to be eligible to apply as an assistant chief, one must earn a bachelors degree. A master’s degree is a requirement to apply for chief of police.
McClelland said he was thankful for his time as a student.
“It made me more well rounded to sit in class, take those courses and to hear different views,” he said.
McClelland said his vision is for community-oriented policing throughout the city and he hopes to have partnerships with other law enforcement agencies throughout the region.
“UH is a community campus in the Houston area, along with Texas Southern University. Both of those campuses are located in inner city Houston,” McClelland said. “Things that affect the campus can also affect the neighborhoods. We have to make sure we’re coordinated and use our resources wisely and make sure I give them information that can be helpful, and if they have information about the neighborhoods that they let me know.”
