DA Kim Ogg – After One Year by Minnie Payne
Fifty-eight-year-old Harris County District Attorney is full of energy and optimistic that Houston will become the safest city in America. “I want to make Houston the safest city in America,” Ogg shares. “I believe it’s possible and even in these pessimistic times, I’m optimistic. I believe in people. I believe in Houston. And I think that with our local government and the mindset of local law enforcement leaders, we can get this done.” As a native Houstonian, she not only brings a positive/fresh outlook, determination, and dedication to Houstonians, but her 28-year tenure as an attorney with a strong record of keeping families safe is impressive. She served as a Chief felony Prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney office before being chosen to lead Houston’s first Anti-Gang Task Force, which, under her leadership, saw a 40 percent reduction in Houston’s gang violence. From 1999-2006, she was Executive Director of Crime Stoppers, leading the organization to international record-breaking years and capturing thousands of violent felons. In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey threw Ogg’s offices a curve, displacing all 700 employees into 11 separate buildings, scattering courts across the complex, making it logistically impossible for people, files, and prisoners to be where they were supposed to be. “Our employees each have a good attitude and are gritting their teeth and bearing it,” she comments. Ogg started her duties as the top law enforcement official in the largest city in Texas and the fourth most populous city in the nation in January 2017. We asked her how she felt about her duties, and she reminisced to her childhood when her mother was kidnapped in 1962. “While she [mother] was not killed, she was injured when she jumped out of a car to escape. Our whole family was affected, and the incident directed me as a young professional to the issue of victims’ rights,” she says. “Also, my father’s job of serving as a state legislator influenced me in terms of what one could do for others as a leader in government. Consequently, I think, in that there were two key influences on me, that the sum total of my past experiences allows me to do my job. We don’t realize that at the time it [events] was happening – it takes a lot of reflection that leads me to my position.” Ogg is advocating for more money and time to be spent on the issue of mental illness. Going forward, she is pushing for non-violent people to be treated instead of being jailed. “In a time of scarce [law] enforcement to fight violent crime, local tax payers should not foot the bill of mental health treatment for those in our prisons. It’s the least expensive and most effective way. We have created a mental health division that is growing because of the demand, and we are working toward the creation of a community center for the mentally ill in order to divert them to providers who can help them as opposed to jailing them.” A typical day in her office is comprised of meetings and telephone conversations with people ranging from the chief of police to a victim’s mother to a lawyer with a request for permission to handle a case in a specific fashion. “It’s quite varied,” she explains. “And often people of the media and I believe that our community want and appreciate leaders who are committed to them. My evenings are often filled with events, neighborhood meetings, and family time.” She further proudly explains that she takes her 18-year-old son Jack Jordan’s, a freshman at the University of Houston, phone calls regardless of where she is or her priorities. “He needs me as a parent. My father was always accessible to me; I was brought up that way, and I want to make sure that my son has access to me.” Ogg’s stance on immigration is from the approach of crime victims who are members of our international community or travelling in Houston. She wants them to feel as equally protected as our citizens and wants them to feel that they can report crime without fear of immigration enforcement. “Our policy is to tell everyone that we do not consider immigration laws, but the criminal laws of Texas, regardless of national origin. That goes both for the accused and the victimized.” She has received criticism from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for passing a law in March 2017 that decriminalizes individuals caught with less than four ounces of marijuana and diverts them into community service projects. To clarify, offenders in correctional facilities, drug-free zones around schools, and those bound by probation, bond, or other deferred adjudication agreements are not eligible for the program and will be prosecuted as normal. Ogg responds by acclaiming that in a time of limited law enforcement the diverting of misdemeanor marijuana charges to offenders has been a success in allowing police to investigate more serious crimes. “To date, we have diverted 3,800-plus offenders from jail at a savings of more than ten million dollars. We also believe that keeping people eligible in the work force by helping them keep their records clean is important. It’s important to job safety, too.” Ogg asserts that her son has and has had a tremendous influence on her life. “Your world is never the same after you have a child. I have changed my perspective on everything, including how we handle a lot of offenders. It changed the way I look at it every time.” In an effort to beautify Houston’s bayous, Ogg’s office is announcing in March the implementation of a new community service program called the Green and Clean Program. The program is designed for offenders to help clean up our bayous and their criminal records at the same time. There will be room for volunteers to help. “Our bayous could be beautiful, but they are full of trash. Between offenders and volunteers, I think we could have a good work force, and I’m hopeful that we will be able to accomplish this.”