LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Back in February, FOX5 told you about a new Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department task force dedicated to curbing crime in the Chinatown corridor. Now, seven months into their mission, we got an update on the progress they’ve made so far.
The Chinatown corridor has long been known as a hotspot for crime — and especially car break-ins.
“Crime has always been an issue in Chinatown as long as we’ve been here and long before that,” said Colin Fukunaga, Concept Creator for Fukuburger restaurant.
That’s why Metro Police launched a task force dedicated to curbing crime in Chinatown.
Two officers make up the Spring Mountain Anti-Crime Resource Team — or SMART Team — but the Chinatown community just knows them as Mike and Ike.
Since they were assigned to the area in February, they’ve built connections with business owners, identifying their concerns and gaining their trust.
“Since the creation of our SMART Team in February of this year, they’ve been able to make contact with every single property manager or business owner along the Spring Mountain corridor,” said Spring Mountain Area Command Capt. Katie Geiger. “We’ve been able to make a huge contact list, so when we have issues in that area, we’re able to communicate with everyone so we can spread the word faster.”
By communicating directly with the Chinatown community — Geiger said police are now hearing about crimes that often go unreported, namely car break-ins.
“With that follow-up, we’ve had eight people in custody that have been prolific in that area doing these car break-ins,” said Geiger.
“At first I thought it was just for show, but Mike and Ike and the Spring Mountain Area Command have been dedicated to ridding this problem,” said Fukunaga.
The SMART Team officers now have regular meetings with Chinatown business owners like Fukunaga, who’s positive about the progress being made, but says car break-ins especially are still a big problem — the latest one happening just a few weeks ago.
“We were in a meeting with Metro when we were alerted by our staff to get back to the restaurant because we had a break-in right at that moment, so it was a coincidence, but it just shed some light on how dire the situation is,” he said.
Overall, Fukunaga said he does believe that Metro and business owners here are on the right track to addressing crime in Chinatown. He wants to encourage more business owners to get involved in these meetings with Metro Police and be vocal about the problems they’re experiencing.
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