LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Neighbors and apartment complexes by UNLV remain frustrated with crime from chronic homeless camps, as residents say Metro Police are stepping up efforts to clear encampments from the area.
Last fall, FOX5 reported on the squatters in vacant units and fires in the area. Chair Tick Segerblom met with concerned managers of one complex.
Though burglaries and thefts are down around South Central Area Command, residents remain frustrated by bold campers: they are breaking into occupied units and stealing residents’ belongings.
One resident tells FOX5, he discovered a squatter in his home; the squatters had stolen his TV, a gun and all of his pants. He reported the incident to Metro Police.
“The police need to do something about this,” said resident Tasha Kilburn, who said that squatters keep trying to enter through the window into her street-side unit. In a nearby homeless camp, her mother pointed out a grill stolen from her porch.
South Central Area Command recently met with community members and apartment managers. Metro said that apartment managers are working with them on a safety plan, releasing this statement:
“The South Central Area Command Community Oriented Policing Unit along with the Homeless Outreach Team will continue to work with community partners to provide resources and come up with creative solutions for unhoused individuals in the area. As always we attempt to educated, warn, and then take enforcement action when issues arise with the unhoused community.”
Chair Tick Segerblom said that he is working on setting up a community association for the area, to address these issues.
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