On Tuesday, Fort Worth Police gave a report on the city's violent crime response plan. City leaders were pleased to see there's been an overall decrease in violent crime by more than 10% from 2021 to 2022. Murders from 2021 to 2022 decreased by about 24%. Business robberies went down by 10%.
In addition to reducing overall crime by 10%, the plan says improving neighborhood conditions and police-community relations remain top priorities for the remainder of 2023.
In 2020, voters extended a half-cent sales tax, which became known as the "crime tax."
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Fort Worth Police Assistant Chief Robert Alldredge said it is important for residents to understand how funding is used to carry out this initiative.
“We had over 2400 separate calls for service for the violent crime initiative,” he said “In 360 of those or roughly 15%, a gun was seized. That's the whole point of this to get the guns out of the hands of those who don't need them.”
As seen in recent cases, Alldredge said technology continues to play a critical role in capturing the perpetrators.
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“It's a fourth multiplier for us,” he said. “Whether the community buys the cameras, or we buy the cameras, it's encouraging to see that they see the benefit of those cameras being in the community.”
