Crime is down 22% in Fort Worth’s Las Vegas Trail. How neighbors and police made it safer
Crossing guard Hubert “Johnny” Trotter carries a stop sign and a pistol he affectionately calls “my wife” to protect the children who cross the intersection at Las Vegas Trail and Mojave Trail.
“They don’t have to stop for this, but they will stop for my wife,” Trotter said.
Shootings used to be a daily occurrence in the neighborhood, said Trotter, who has been a crossing guard in the area for seven years. But recently, he said, they haven’t been as frequent.
Violent crime in the Las Vegas Trail area is down 22% in 2021 compared with the first nine months of 2019, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. It’s the result of an increased police presence and residents working with law enforcement, police and community leaders said. The number of violent crimes have fallen from 457 during the period to 371 this year.
Data for the entire city through the first nine months was not available, but crime in the first six months of 2021 is trending up.
Crime in the Las Vegas Trail neighborhood became a bigger focus for leaders after a 2017 series by the Star-Telegram highlighted the area’s problems with gun violence, drug abuse and child sexual exploitation. Former council member Brian Byrd modeled the revitalization program after a similar effort in Dallas’ Jubilee Park neighborhood.
Willie Rankin wanted to reduce crime by 15% in three years when he started as executive director of the nonprofit LVTRise in August 2019. The group started by holding community meetings and surveying 300 residents to learn what was contributing to the high crime rate.
The survey showed residents were willing to work with police if they had a personal relationship with individual officers. This led to more community meetings with police officers. A patrol car was stationed at all times outside LVTRise’ s community center at 8201 Calmont Ave.
LVTRise also signed a contract with public safety technology company Flock Safety to install license plate cameras throughout the neighborhood. The data helps police track suspects, identifies stolen vehicles and can lead police to people wanted on arrest warrants.
West Division Commander Mark Barthen was not available for an interview, but in an email said the combination of the cameras and the trust built between residents and police have contributed to the drop in crime.
Nichole Campbell, a property manager at the Shenandoah Ridge apartment complex, said LVTRise organized monthly meetings between apartment managers where they shared information about evicted tenants to help prevent what Campbell called “passing on problems to the other apartment complexes.”
Some residents say the biggest drop in crime is around the community center and that it is still dangerous on the strip.
James Sexton, a veteran who has lived near the intersection of Las Vegas Trail and Calmont Avenue, said shootings are still frequent and speeding is rampant. Sexton moved to Las Vegas Trail three and a half years ago after living unhoused on Lancaster Street in downtown Fort Worth.
“I thought I was escaping Lancaster. Nope. I just got the minimalist version of it here,” Sexton said. He gets help paying for housing through a voucher program run by the Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development.
He acknowledged the increased police presence and said he hoped they could do more to clean up the neighborhood. He singled out the intersection of Las Vegas Trail and Calmont Avenue, which has high levels of crime according to the city.
District 3 city council member Michael Crain was pleased with the progress shown in the recent report, but said there’s more work to be done. The next steps include a plan to develop the area by providing medical services, better housing and potentially a grocery store.
Crain zeroed in on health care. The nearest medical office is the Viola Pitts/Como JPS Health Center five miles away. A nearby health center should help residents get better preventative care, which he said will reduce the reliance on emergency rooms.
Crain also said he wants to encourage more home ownership to help Las Vegas Trail residents build generational wealth.
“Las Vegas Trail shouldn’t be where people end up. It should be where people want to live,” Crain said.
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
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