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97 10 Reorganization D uring Oscar Holcombe’s two terms as mayor between 1933 and 1937, he inaugurated several changes for HPD largely regarded as politically motivated. Not the least was his creation of the Department of Public Safety. By making this move, he effectively ended the existence of independent police and fire departments. Holcombe abolished the position of chief of police and imbued the director of public safety, George Woods (his former campaign manager), with the chief’s powers and then some. However, Woods stressed, “If anyone calls me chief, they had better take to their heels when they say it.”1 As public safety director, Woods implemented a number of changes that had long-lasting ramifications for HPD. The egotistical Woods created the position of superintendent of police and appointed Banyon Wylie “B. W.” Payne, former captain of detectives, to fill it. In the process, Woods, who claimed that the city budget required it, fired Chief Percy Heard and Captain of Detectives J. K. Irwin. In addition, many high-ranking officers were reduced in rank.2 The rapid turnover of HPD chiefs during the 1930s was one of the biggest detriments to the reorganization of the department. During Holcombe’s tenure as mayor in the 1930s, he oversaw several bureaucratic advances, including the creation of a Missing Persons Division on November 15, 1934. He also required police matrons to be referred to as “police-women.” The following year the Identification Division was in operation 24/7, and a Record Division went into operation. Following the resignation of George Woods in February 1935, twenty-year HPD veteran “B. W.” Payne was appointed acting public safety director as well as “chief of police.” Born in Tennessee in 1889, he left farming for police work at the age of twenty-one when he moved to Houston, and he joined HPD three years later in 1915. Celebrating his two decades in policing in 1935, he said, “It is the most fascinating work in the world, and I hope that I 98 Houston Blue may be able to continue in it the rest of my natural life.” And as for his greatest ambition: “To have the most efficient police department in the South.”3 When Payne first joined the force, there were 12 members of the detective bureau, compared to 80 when he took over as the top cop two decades later. The department itself had grown from 140 to 320 officers. Payne remembered fondly the days when the mounted patrolmen were the most prominent members of the force. They had become obsolete by 1935, replaced by radio-equipped patrol cars that were used for the first time in 1932.4 Three new bureaus also had been created during the intervening twenty years, Vice, Homicide and Auto Theft. Payne was a good choice for chief, having served stints in a number of capacities over the years. According to one account, he “had taken a hand at everything there was to be done at the police station, except ride motorcycles.”5 He began as a patrolman working the downtown beat and a year later was promoted to mounted officer. A year later he was appointed city jailer. Two years later he made detective, working for the automobile theft bureau. He held this position for five years before his appointment as sergeant in charge of the Vice Squad, a position he held for one year. In 1928, he was promoted to lieutenant of detectives and helped organize the auto theft bureau. During this period, he was credited with leading investigations that broke up a major state auto theft ring. Payne was probably most proud of creating the Houston police school, although it was discontinued after a year due to retrenchments in the department . The following year Payne was promoted to captain and began a three-year stint in charge of the homicide bureau. In 1933, Payne took a leave of absence and went to work in the district attorney’s office as a criminal investigator looking into all capital cases. Among the changes he hoped to implement as chief was the organization of a separate bureau to investigate robbery by firearms, burglary and theft. He also hoped to inaugurate a complaint bureau to improve public relations. In 1935, Payne stressed the importance of increasing the size of the historically undermanned police force. Late that year while serving as acting public safety director, he announced the necessity of hiring 150 more officers due to the ongoing...

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