Harris County Precinct 4 is spending $2.75 million on a new team of deputies and advocates dedicated to domestic violence cases in the area that includes Katy.

Commissioner Lesley Briones and Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced the Family Violence Co-Response Team on Thursday, Oct. 1, as KHOU first reported. The announcement fell on the first day of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The program pairs two squads: VIPER, which tracks down violent offenders with open warrants, and SMART, which connects victims with advocates and safety planning.

Briones said the team will include "18 deputies and advocates who will be doubling down even further … to hold individuals accountable and to make sure we are protecting survivors."

Under the program, trained advocates will help survivors create a safety plan within 48 hours of an abuser's arrest, Briones said on X.

Harris County led Texas in intimate partner homicides in 2025 with 26 victims, according to the Texas Council on Family Violence's annual report, released the same day. Statewide, 160 people were killed by intimate partner violence last year, and more than 240,000 family violence offenses were reported to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Sixty-nine percent of those killed statewide died by firearm. Thirty-two percent of offenders had a known history of violence.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office is also compiling a list of the county's 100 most violent domestic violence offenders to prioritize enforcement.

Gonzalez called domestic violence "an epidemic" at the Oct. 1 announcement. According to KHOU's report, officials estimate violence may occur seven to 10 times before police are called.

Precinct 4 stretches across northwest Harris County and includes Katy, Tomball, Spring Branch, Hockley and Waller. The precinct's $2.75 million investment funds the entire co-response team.

District Attorney Sean Teare and Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin were expected to launch a separate program expanding protective order services for domestic violence survivors on Friday, Oct. 2. No confirmation of that launch was available at publication.

Residents experiencing domestic violence can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.