Fort Worth Police say Stockyards' new bike unit catching thieves, sex offenders

About six months after Fort Worth Police created a bicycle patrol for the Fort Worth Stockyards, they say the unit has been improving safety.

Police said they wanted to be proactive about crime in the tourist hotspot ahead of summer crowds.

Data presented earlier this year also showed more violent crimes in the Stockyards than in the W. 7th Entertainment District between March 2023 and March 2024.

Police said the bike team introduced themselves to more than 100 business owners and managers, caught thieves and robbery suspects, and even arrested a suspect who was wanted for violent sex crime who had managed to evade police for years.

On August 10th, for example, bike police said someone flagged them down saying their manager's cell phone was stolen from Taco Heads Restaurant on East Exchange Avenue. They said they were able to identify and detain the suspect.

Later that month, according to a police report, the patrol was called to the Rodeo Exchange Bar on West Exchange Avenue for a man "walking around naked behind the building."

Local business owners credit the beefed-up detail for reigning in loitering and trespassing, too.

“We’ve had an issue with the homeless staying up on our deck some, and so we have had to call and they have been here and so a lot of the people who were taking advantage of being on the premises, they don’t come anymore because they do know that it is patrolled," said Kathryn Hooker, who's daughter owns Hookers Grill.

They've had their restaurant on West Exchange Avenue for eight years.

"It’s always interesting. You never know who’s going to walk up to your window," she said.

Business owner Jim Miller has been coming to the Stockyards for nearly 40 years and said he's seen an improvement, too. “It’s a lot safer, I think," he said.

The area keeps him coming back for the same reason it does millions of others. "It's western, you know," he said.

He and Hooker said seeing more officers around has had an impact, too.

“I think just the presence of seeing either the horseback, the bikes or the cars, I think that all helps because they know that somebody’s around," Hooker said.