About Sheriff Ed Gonzalez

Voters chose lifelong Houstonian Ed Gonzalez to serve as Harris County Sheriff in 2016 and have now returned him to office for a third term.

With a budget of over $1.5 billion, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office is the largest sheriff’s office in Texas and the third-largest in America. Sheriff Gonzalez leads more than 5,000 employees tasked with protecting the 4.8 million residents in a 1,700-square-mile county. The Sheriff’s Office is the primary law enforcement agency for more than 2 million people who live in unincorporated Harris County. The Sheriff’s Office also runs the largest county jail in Texas with a population of about 9,000.

In his first year in office, Sheriff Gonzalez was called upon to lead the agency through the worst natural disaster in U.S. history – Hurricane Harvey. While managing the agency’s disaster response from the top, Sheriff Gonzalez also worked to lead from the front, personally assisting in multiple water rescues of stranded residents.

Sheriff Gonzalez later led efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact inside the Harris County Jail. Through aggressive testing, sanitation, and quarantine practices, the jail avoided a potentially catastrophic outbreak and saved lives.

Sheriff Gonzalez has elevated discussions on mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, and rehabilitation programs and services. He prioritizes public safety and trust while maintaining fairness and dignity in the criminal justice system. Sheriff Gonzalez believes jail should be a place for people who have demonstrated they pose a legitimate threat to public safety.

He prioritizes innovation and collaboration regarding the care and response to those with mental illness, developmental disabilities, and neurocognitive disorders. He established a telehealth program that provides deputies in the field with real-time access to behavioral health clinicians via an iPad. He also invested in expanded critical intervention and de-escalation training for detention officers and peace officers.

A strong advocate for first responders, Sheriff Gonzalez has successfully advocated for pay raises that have resulted in a 32% increase in starting deputy pay and a 40% increase in detention officer pay during his tenure. Sheriff Gonzalez also founded the agency’s Behavioral Health Division that offers a wide range of in-house counseling services to employees.

Sheriff Gonzalez invests in literacy and rehabilitation programs designed to help people in jail eventually return to society equipped to make a positive impact. Those programs include the jail’s nationally recognized Women’s Empowerment Center that addresses the unique needs of incarcerated women, and the Brothers in Arms program for jailed military veterans. Sheriff Gonzalez also created a pre-booking diversion desk at the county jail that’s operated 24/7 by clinical staff to determine a person’s eligibility for services outside the jail.

Sheriff Gonzalez expanded the agency’s homeless outreach team and crime reduction units to operate in all patrol districts. Sheriff Gonzalez also led the charge for major investments in special units that are tasked with serving arrest warrants on fugitives charged with violent felonies.

Notably, Sheriff Gonzalez has worked hard to help Harris County shed its long-standing reputation as one of America’s most dangerous places to drive. He works with partner agencies on strategic traffic enforcement initiatives and created the Sheriff’s Office Traffic Crimes Unit to focus on preventing roadway shootings and street racing.

Sheriff Gonzalez emphasizes transparency and accountability. The Sheriff’s Office assigned body-worn cameras to all deputies during his first term in office. And he was the first sheriff in Texas to expand the body-worn camera program to include all detention officers. In 2024, the Public Relations Society of America Houston Chapter presented Sheriff Gonzalez with its CEO Communicator of the Year Award.

Sheriff Gonzalez continues to identify and implement proven strategies to enhance public safety. His commitment to a more effective, equitable, and thoughtful approach to peace keeping has served as a model across the state and country.

Sheriff Gonzalez started his journey in public service at the Houston Police Department, first as a civilian, then a peace officer, homicide detective, hostage negotiator, and sergeant.

After nearly two decades of service as a peace officer, Sheriff Gonzalez won a seat on the Houston City Council, serving three terms as the representative for residents in District H, an area north and east of downtown Houston. As a city councilman, he chaired the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee and was appointed Mayor Pro-Tem. He was instrumental in creating the Houston Recovery Center, a diversion facility where people with public intoxication cases connect with a recovery coach rather than going to jail.

Sheriff Gonzalez holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Houston-Downtown and a master of liberal arts degree from the University of St. Thomas.

Sheriff Gonzalez serves on the advisory Board of Trustees for the national Council on Criminal Justice, where he also serves as a member of the Women’s Justice Commission. Sheriff Gonzalez serves as Vice-Chair of the Harris County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.

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