The Fort Worth Police Department is expanding its violent crime prevention strategy, FortWorthSafe. Following horrific shooting incidents in Dallas and Sacramento over the weekend, the City of Fort Worth convened a press conference emphasizing its commitment to reducing violent crime in the city.
Neil Noakes, the city’s police chief, has set an “ambitious” goal to reduce violent crime by 10% in the coming year. Part of the program’s strategy includes addressing the issues contributing to violent crime, such as lack of transportation, food deserts, and lack of jobs.
“It doesn’t matter what zip code you live in. It doesn’t matter what area you come from. It doesn’t matter what neighborhood you live in Fort Worth,” stated Noakes. “We all deserve to be safe. And that’s what FortWorthSafe is about. We will be working with community members to root out the people and conditions that are contributing to violent crime.”
In a video describing the initiative, Noakes asked community members to partner with the police in this effort. Residents can report any suspicious activity at iWatchTexas. Crime tips can be reported to Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-8477.
Mayor Mattie Parker acknowledged that violent crime in metropolitan cities around the country is rising.
“Unfortunately, Fort Worth is not insulated from that conversation,” said Mayor Parker. “While the overall crime rate is down 40%, our violent crime rate has risen dramatically, most recently during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Parker highlighted the rise in shootings, which increased 165% from 146 in 2018 to 388 in 2021. Homicides increased by 66%, from 71 in 2019 to 118 in 2021.
At the press conference, Noakes mentioned that he is dealing with a lack of about 100 police officers, and the agency is recruiting officers to fill the vacancies.
Noakes said the Fort Worth Police Department is using an “intelligence-led, data-driven approach” to target the “small number of people in the small number of places” who are perpetrating the most crime in the city. He noted that 2.9 % of 824 police reporting areas make up 23% of the city’s violent crime rate.
This is similar to the approach implemented by the Dallas Police Department over the past year, which has met with a measure of success.