Crime Lit

Karin Slaughter's The Good Daughter is a Small-Town Thriller With a Strong Female Lead

“As a writer, I wanted that challenge to write about a difficult woman and the daughters that she raised.”

08/08/2017 By Allyson Waller

Law & Order

An HPD Meet-and-Greet Underscores the Importance of Community

"We’re concerned with what’s happening here in Northside," says HPD Vice Division Captain Dan Harris.

07/18/2017 By Julia Gsell

Murder is No Joke

5 True Crime Podcasts to Kill Time While Traveling this Summer

Featuring several Houston-specific episodes.

06/16/2017 By Kyndall Krist

Heroes

Houston Indian-American Nonprofit Rewards Man Who Intervened in Deadly Shooting

India House Houston presented Ian Grillot with a $100,000 check for his bravery.

03/30/2017 By Roxanna Asgarian

Ice House

Welcome to Houston, the Armored Car Robbery Capital of the World

Houston doesn’t have particularly high rates of other violent crimes, so why is it that our town has suddenly become The Town?

03/21/2017 By Sarah Rufca Nielsen

Ice House

How Did the Once-Largest Bank Heist in Houston History Happen?

Fifty years ago, with the Bayou City exploding, a bank that couldn’t keep up paid the price.

01/23/2017 By Adam Doster

News

Texas’s 2016 Execution Tally Was the Lowest Since 1996 — Here's Why

Houston-based Texas Defender Services is trying to ensure the judicial system functions properly even in the most extreme circumstances.

12/29/2016 By Adam Doster

Crime

The Harris County DA Invites Law-Breaking Citizens to "Make It Right"

A new program allows those with non-violent misdemeanors to have offenses and warrants removed from their records.

07/18/2016 By Liz Hardaway

News

Study Suggests Lethal Police Shootings Less Likely in Houston

A Harvard study examines use of police force in 10 cities across the nation, including our own.

07/12/2016 By Katharine Shilcutt

Poughkeepsie to Polunsky

In Texas, Death Row Inmates Through the Eyes of a New York Artist

A supermax prison isn't the best place to sit for a portrait, but Peter Charlap's subjects have no other choice.

04/28/2016 By Roxanna Asgarian

Blood Bath

The Booming Business of Crime Scene Cleanup

An afternoon with Bio-One Houston’s rookie of the year.

03/01/2016 By Marianella Orlando

Star Wars

Famous and In Trouble? Kent Schaffer’s Your Man

Meet three celebs who were glad to have Houston’s lawyer-to-the-stars.

11/29/2015 By Steven Devadanam

Crime

The Fixer

Defense attorney Kent Schaffer and the notorious 2007 teenage murder trial that gripped Houston.

11/29/2015 By Steven Devadanam Photography by Brian Goldman

Public Safety

Neighborhood Hopping with Sheriff Ron Hickman

Harris County’s newly-appointed Sheriff takes to the streets—and shares his big plans for the next year.

11/29/2015 By Katharine Shilcutt

Crimin'

Orange Is the New Black for Houston Jewelry Designer

She's wearing cuffs of a different kind after being charged with money laundering.

10/02/2015 By Sarah Rufca Nielsen

Bayougraphy

The Art of Crime

Lois Gibson, forensic artist for HPD, has helped catch thousands of criminals—and now puts her skills to use in unexpected ways.

08/04/2015 By Marianella Orlando

Photo Essay

Moment of Sleuth

A never-before-seen look at the death and afterlife of Houston’s new crime lab, once the worst in the United States, and increasingly a model in its field.

05/03/2015 By Michael Hardy Photography by Brian Goldman

Crime

HBO Films Takes on Houston’s Favorite (Suspected) Serial Murderer

A new true-crime documentary series explores the life of infamous eccentric Robert Durst.

02/08/2015 By Michael Hardy

Hair Crimes

Making the Classics Relevant: Alexander Pope

Rethinking The Rape of the Lock in light of a string of recent crimes

09/30/2014

CRIME

Iron Thunderhorse: Wanted by the Law

Self-proclaimed Native American shaman escapes from Houston halfway house.

07/02/2014 By John Nova Lomax