HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Police Department warns you not to try to retrieve your stolen items. They are experiencing staff shortages, which means not every crime will be assessed.

Christian Briones recently had his car stolen and now he’s wondering if he can get it back.

“It feels like we’re on our own,” Briones said.

Briones left for practice early Monday morning and returned to his stolen car. Fortunately, his wallet containing the Apple Air Tag was inside the vehicle.

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“I put it in my wallet just in case. I feel like people steal wallets all the time, otherwise you might lose it somewhere,” Briones said.

He tracked Air Tag to a home in HPD jurisdiction and called the police. He waited down the block to show officers the house. Ten hours later, he said, he finally received a call from police asking if he still wanted help.

“It’s obvious. What do you think? I’m here without a car and of course I need help,” Briones said.

Briones said as far as he knows, police still haven’t done anything about his case. In a recent PSA, HPD said people tracking their stolen property is on the rise and they want people to stop.

“Avoid confronting the suspect, even if you know who he is. Stepping into a volatile situation can make things worse,” HPD advises in its video.

This is safe and smart advice for people to follow, but people ABC13 spoke with aren’t sure they’ll ever get their belongings back if they follow this advice.

“I think it makes no sense at this point. I feel like it’s not going to happen,” Briones said.

SEE ALSO: Tired of mail thefts, the woman sends herself an Apple AirTag as bait and catches the suspects

Former HPD Acting Chief Larry Satterwhite said earlier this year, during the ongoing cold case scandal, that they did not have the manpower to investigate all property crimes.

“We don’t have enough to commit all the crimes,” Satterwhite said.

According to HPD data, 99,123 property crimes were reported in 2023, but only 5,664, or about 5.7%, were cleared. There have been 68,671 property crime reports so far this year, but only 3,648, or about 5.3%, have been cleared.

ABC13 asked HPD about the cases they were unable to investigate but did not respond. They just sent out a statement stating:

“The Houston Police Department takes every crime in the city seriously. While we prioritize protecting lives and reducing violent crime, we recognize that the vast majority of crimes reported to HPD are property crimes. Like many law enforcement agencies, HPD faces staffing shortages in patrol and security matters. It is well documented and investigations that directly impact clearance rates, we are leveraging technology to address these challenges and actively collaborating with other agencies and our community to maximize our resources. Prevention is key and we encourage citizens to report any crime.”

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