Fort Worth Police Department unveils 2023 plan to reduce violent crime at city council meeting

FORT WORTH, Texas. Fort Worth Assistant Police Chief Robert Aldridge presented city officials with his 2023 action plan showing how the department plans to make Cowtown a much safer city.

The plan includes a strategy involving community partners and tools to combat crime.

Aldredge talked about what he sees as one of the most important crime-fighting tools: “herd cells.”

“The cameras allow us to be in a place where you don’t have to have an officer there all the time,” Aldridge said. “But we can still monitor what is happening.”

Flock cameras are embedded devices that can read license plates and help police monitor activity in the area. Some homeowners’ associations have bought the same cameras for police officers to monitor their streets.

Alldredge is also grateful to people who care about security in their region. He said it helped the police keep drugs off the streets and guns out of the hands of dangerous people.

In 2021, the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) reported 102 homicides. That number has fallen year-to-date to 77 in 2022, down 24.5%. During the same period, the number of aggravated assaults jumped by 0.08% from 1,001 to 1,009 incidents. Robbery involving individuals decreased by 1.5% from 469 to 476 cases.

Aldridge also shared that the violent crime team received about 2,400 separate calls, 360 of which resulted in the seizure of at least one weapon. This means that approximately 15% of calls resulted in weapons being removed from the street.

Aldridge said the FWPD’s Crime Unit will also focus more on illegal playrooms where violent crimes have occurred. Aldridge informed council members that the Fugitive Unit would work with gang intelligence and criminal tracking officers to arrest violent criminals.

Detectives from the Homicide, Robbery and Gun Violence Unit will immediately exchange information with both patrol and tactical officers to help find, identify and arrest people who break the law with a gun.

During his presentation, Aldridge outlined the department’s goals, including a 10% reduction in violent crime over the next 12 months, a reduction in homicides, aggravated assaults and robberies, and improved police-community relations.

Council members also received an update on improving the quality of life in the once crime-ridden Las Vegas Trail area and information on how to make the area more convenient for people through sidewalks, landscaping, improved bus stops and many more.

The presentation includes a plan for transforming the area and getting input from the community, something the police can change.

“Without their support, without the participation of the community, we are effective, but not half as effective as without their help,” Aldridge said.