Metro zeroes in on downtown crime

Diana Sahagun

Friday, Sept. 21, 2001 | 10:15 a.m.

41 in July-August, down 31 percent from 59 in May-June.

23 in July-August, down 23 percent from 30 in May-June.

33 in July-August, up 10 percent from 30 in May-June.

47 in July-August, up 9 percent from 43 in May-June.

88 in July-August, up 69 percent from 52 in May-June.

For the hundreds of longtime residents living in the shadow of Las Vegas' downtown casinos, fear is a normal part of everyday life.

Home burglaries, auto thefts and robberies keep many residents indoors, afraid to sit in their front yards and reluctant to report crimes to police.

It's a neighborhood mentality that Metro Police Capt. Cliff Davis says is unacceptable for those living in the boundaries of his Downtown Area Command.

After meeting in June with Mayor Oscar Goodman, Davis outlined a new strategy to preserve the area, starting with the inside and moving out to the streets leading to casinos and retail stores.

The meeting sparked changes in the way Metro addresses crimes, and as a result, some crimes have decreased, Davis said. A new task force has officers increasing their presence in the neighborhoods in an effort to clean up the area bounded by Owens Avenue, Eastern Avenue, Sahara Avenue, and Rancho Drive.

While the most frequent crimes in the Downtown Area Command include auto, commercial and residential burglaries, Goodman has pushed Davis to crack down on street crimes that are not often a high priority, including drug sales and prostitution.

As part of a massive redevelopment effort, city leaders have promoted downtown as a place to "live, work and play," but the message has left Metro grappling with the public's perception that the area is unsafe.

Davis said the first step in encouraging new residents to settle in downtown is ridding the neighborhoods of a sense of fear.

"For people who are here to be living in fear is a crime," Davis said. "The police department is supposed to do something about that."

Traditionally, Davis said, officers were most visible in the neighborhoods when a crime was reported. Problems would return as soon as the officers turned the corner.

But since June, Davis has reorganized the 116 officers who serve under him, increasing their patrols in an effort to head off problems before they fester. Property owners are contacted about possible invitations to crime, such as abandoned vehicles or unsturdy locks.

Officers are also meeting with residents and planning block parties to help unite the diverse neighborhood, Davis said.

Davis has also varied officers' shifts to prevent criminals from tracking when officers report to work.

As proof that the new plan is working, Davis points to the numbers of crimes reported in the months before the plan went into effect, some of which have declined.

Since July, residential and commercial burglaries have dropped by almost 30 percent from two months prior. Robberies and auto burglaries have increased 10 percent, a smaller increase than may have been anticipated before the new Metro tactics.

Auto thefts, though, has skyrocketed by 69 percent since July, from two months prior. Davis said while auto thefts are on the rise throughout the valley, he is working to direct police resources to bring the numbers back to an acceptable level.

To keep criminals from returning to downtown, Goodman in the last several months has met with judges, prosecutors, and jail administrators to encourage them to set minimum, mandatory sentences to criminals.

Goodman said the entire criminal justice system must take a firm stance on crime so that criminals know they will face jail time, rather than being slapped on the wrist.

"I want to make sure if people are committing crimes and getting convicted that they're going to taste jail, that they won't be subject to a revolving door," Goodman said. "Eventually, word will get out on the street that Las Vegas is not a good place to commit crimes in."