Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González
The City of McAllen hosted its annual Government Affairs Series presentation on June 26, 2025, at which Police Chief Victor Rodriguez delivered the long-awaited 2024 Annual Crime Report. The event, organized by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by McAllen International Airport and McAllen Crime Stoppers, was attended by city officials, law enforcement personnel, community leaders, and the general public. The forum offered a transparent and data-driven examination of the city’s public safety achievements and challenges.
“This is our 17th crime reduction in the last 20 years,” Chief Rodriguez announced to a packed audience. “And this past year, we recorded the lowest crime levels in McAllen in 38 years. That means we now report less crime than we did back in 1985.”
According to the data, McAllen experienced a 1.5% overall reduction in reported crime volume in 2024 compared to 2023. When adjusted for population growth using per capita crime rates, the decline deepens to 2.7%. These figures are based on the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), which replaced the older Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) method and now tracks 52 separate offenses.
Rodriguez explained, “We look at crime both in terms of volume and rate. The rate matters because we’re growing. Our population increases about 1.2% a year, and when you take that into account, we still saw meaningful crime reductions.”
The chief highlighted the importance of daily operational discipline. “We begin every day at 7:15 in the morning,” he said. “Seven of us sit at a table, including my three assistant chiefs. We review everything from the past 24 hours, or 72 hours if it’s Monday. That daily briefing is a data dump. It forces information upward and across. That’s how we stay in front of patterns.”
Despite these improvements, Chief Rodriguez was clear: “Any one crime is already a bad situation. No one must become complacent with attractive-looking numbers. They reflect effort, not victory.”
Notably, auto thefts in McAllen dropped to just 63 cases in 2024, compared to over 2,100 in the early 1990s. The city’s approach—rapid investigation, collaboration with federal agencies, and daily monitoring—has proven highly effective. “Other cities are losing 30 to 50 vehicles a day,” Rodriguez said. “We’re losing about five a month. That gives our detectives time to thoroughly investigate every single case. And when we do that, we often find that many were staged or falsely reported.”
McAllen’s murder rate was 4.8 per 100,000 population in 2024, significantly lower than cities like Houston, where it stood at 14.9. “There’s a 300% greater chance of being murdered in Houston than in McAllen,” the chief said. “And I don’t say that to boast—it’s just data. We’re not just safer than big cities, we’re safer than most of our peer border communities.”
The report highlighted that McAllen answered more than 135,000 calls for service in 2024—approximately one every 3 minutes and 51 seconds. The police department currently operates with 461 total personnel and an authorized strength of 317 sworn officers, though actual deployment is about 60 short due to vacancies and academy training.
Crime against society, which includes drug and weapons violations, dropped 14.7%. Crimes against property fell 1.9%, while crimes against persons rose by 6.6%. Rodriguez attributed the increase in personal crimes to national trends and evolving definitions, particularly with offenses like sexual assault, which the FBI reclassified in recent years.
He also addressed concerns raised by the public about cybercrime and animal cruelty. “If we file the charge, we can report it. But sometimes it’s handled by other agencies, like Animal Control,” he explained. “Cybercrime is tracked as a method, not a crime category. So, if someone is defrauded online, it shows up as theft.”
Rodriguez pointed to McAllen’s inter-agency collaborations, such as the Texas Anti-Gang (TAG) Center, which was born from a conversation in a parking lot with then-Mayor Jim Darling a decade ago. “That’s what’s possible when leadership aligns with opportunity,” he said. “We approached the governor for funding, and he gave us $5 million. That’s how you go from idea to institution.”
The meeting also served as a platform for McAllen Crime Stoppers to share its contributions. Vanessa Camacho, board president, highlighted the organization’s work and promoted upcoming community events like the Rock the Badge Fun Run and the Thanksgiving Meal Drive. “We empower citizens to report crime anonymously and safely,” she said. “This partnership with McAllen PD is vital.”
The event concluded with a Q&A session, during which residents praised the police department’s responsiveness and professionalism. Rodriguez emphasized the importance of maintaining a visible, well-supported police force. “We are here every day, adjusting in real time,” he concluded. “Crime doesn’t stop, and neither do we.”
The Chamber thanked the McAllen International Airport and Crime Stoppers for sponsoring the program.
