Targeting crime in Houston

In an interesting example of public-private partnership, Target Corp. has offered to help pay for security cameras to be installed around Houston to help the officer-short HPD out. It seems a little odd at first glance, but it turns out Target is no stranger to the law-enforcement game:

Turns out Target has one of the most advanced crime labs in the country at its headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was initially set up to deal with things like theft, fraud, and personal injury cases in their stores. Now, Target also helps law enforcement agencies nationwide solve crimes, even murders. Target has worked with the Secret Service, the ATF, and the FBI, to name a few.

That report is from CNN's Anderson Cooper, who visited the Target crime lab a year ago. While Cooper was there, the lab staff — headed by a former FBI agent — showed him how it helped solve a murder case using video from a security camera in Minneapolis. "It was the stuff of CSI," Cooper wrote. We'll bet you never look at Target the same way again — because Target may be looking back.

Across the country, Target has given money to help prosecute repeat criminals, supported neighborhood patrols and linked local and state crime databases. The company has installed camera systems in Boston and Minneapolis, and it has also worked to create so-called "Safe Zones" in those cities — areas Target and local officials have focused their efforts (read more about the program in Minneapolis from City Pages). In South Bay, Boston, one of the Safe Zones, robberies fell 16 percent and vehicle thefts dropped 19 percent after the cameras were installed; everyone caught and jailed under the program received a chic Isaac Mizrahi prison jumpsuit. (No, not really — don't get excited.) "Most of these crimes, by the way, don't happen at Target stores. They are not related to us," Target Vice President of Assets Protection Brad Brekke told Channel 11. "They are actually crimes in the community that law enforcement needs assistance with."

According to Target Corp., the company's Safe City program should be operating in 10 cities soon, including Dallas, Philadelphia, Tucson and Cincinnati — and, of course, in Houston. It's not clear yet where the cameras will be installed, but KHOU reports likely areas include parts of southwest Houston and downtown.