Crime down in LV, North Las Vegas

Kim Smith

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | 11:39 a.m.

The number of major crimes in Las Vegas and North Las Vegas continues to drop, but Henderson suffered an increase in most crime categories, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, due to be released Monday.

Although the number of larcenies and auto thefts dropped in Henderson, the community saw an increase in homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault and burglary.

Acting Henderson Police Chief Mike Mayberry did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Metro Police reported decreases in six of seven categories -- murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, larceny and burglary. The number of car thefts, however, jumped almost 18 percent from 8,703 to 10,240.

Given the growth in Las Vegas, the decrease in crime is that much more impressive, Sheriff Jerry Keller said.

"These numbers mean that Las Vegas is the safest it has ever been since we started keeping numbers," Keller said.

North Las Vegas statistics show a drop in four of seven categories. The number of rapes, robberies, aggravated assaults and burglaries dropped, while murders, larcenies and auto thefts increased slightly.

Lt. Chris Larotonda said that overall Chief Joe Tillmon is pleased with the statistics, but not content.

"Just because crime is reducing, we can't just hope it will keep going down, we've got to help it along," Larotonda said.

In fact, a special operations team is targeting high-crime areas by contacting known offenders, staking out certain spots and making their presence known in other ways, Larotonda said.

The department is also using grants to increase its number of narcotics officers, Larotonda said.

Larotonda and Keller agreed that the general population deserves much of the credit for the decrease in crime.

"We ask the people of Las Vegas to come to us with their concerns, their fears and their ideas, and they are doing that," Keller said.

Keller said it isn't unusual to see more than 300 people at each of the department's patrol stations on the first Tuesday of every month. The First Tuesday program, which is essentially an open house that affords residents a forum, began in February 1995.

Metro has also garnered favor with the public through other community-related programs, Keller said, including a citizens police academy, the Visitors Information/Visitors Assistance program and the Shop with a Cop Christmas program.

"We are going to continue being innovative," Keller said. "We're going to continue watching national trends and we're going to continue stealing ideas from other law enforcement agencies from across the country."

Keller said whenever he returns from a law enforcement conference his staff "shudders" because they know he will have a dozen ideas for them to research and convert for use in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas officers now use bean bag shotguns because other agencies convinced him that they were an effective, nonlethal weapon, Keller said. Metro also "stole" some computer software that helps detectives track repeat domestic violence offenders.

Metro does not want to see a repeat of 1996, when 17 children were killed by their parents and seven parents were killed by their children, Keller said. Of the 162 people slain that year, 30 percent were killed by a family member.

Larotonda said his department has about 40 crime prevention programs that have had a dramatic effect on North Las Vegas crime, including DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) and Neighborhood Watch.

The effect of cellular phones on crime shouldn't be overlooked either, Larotonda said.

"Crimes are being reported more rapidly now, which means a better response so we are catching more bad guys," Larotonda said.

As far as the increase in car thefts in both Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, Larotonda and Keller agree more of an effort needs to be made to remind people to lock their cars.

Too many people are leaving their cars running when they run into convenience stores, they said. Keller said the VIPER Task Force, which is made up of local, state and federal officers, is always looking for patterns to determine what is the best way to attack the problem of car thefts.

"We recover 90 to 95 percent of stolen cars within a week, but it's still a concern," Keller said.

While everyone hopes the crime rate will continue to drop, law enforcement agencies across the country need to continue developing preventive strategies, Keller said.

"I believe we can make a difference that way," Keller said. "If we ever stop believing that we may as well go home. My goal in life is to wrestle crime to the ground and work myself out of a job."

"We are going to continue being innovative," Keller said.