Las Vegas, Nevada

In 2022, Las Vegas experienced significant increases in crime and disorder in specific areas throughout the city. The Las Vegas Department of Public Safety (LVDPS) is also facing staffing shortages due to retirements and recruitment difficulties. The recruitment/retention crisis facing the LVDPS jeopardizes its ability to 1) function efficiently as an organization, 2) successfully engage with its community, and 3) effectively respond to the increases in crime. The SAJE Policing Assessment is a comprehensive tool used to measure how well an agency meets evidence-informed standards in many of the critical areas listed above - like transparency and building community trust, problem-oriented policing, organizational efficacy, and crime prevention strategies. The Las Vegas Department of Public Safety SAJE Policing Assessment Project is a collaboration between the LVDPS, New York University (NYU), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The NYU SAJE team will provide training and technical assistance on the SAJE assessment, score the assessments, and lead collaborative engagements with key stakeholders in the jurisdiction, including community groups and municipal leaders, to educate them on SAJE standards and facilitate their involvement in setting priorities for department improvements. In addition, researchers at UNLV will conduct an independent process and outcome evaluation to document challenges and successes in the SAJE assessment process and its impact on crime and organizational change.

Data Highlight:

• Las Vegas Department of Public Safety (LVDPS) priority one (in-progress offense) calls for service increased by 15.2% from 2021 (5,779) to 2022 (6,659).
• According to the FBI’s UCR, the crime rate in downtown Las Vegas is 93% higher than the national average.
• Arrests and citations also dramatically increased in 2022, especially in parks and facilities (33.7%) and in the downtown Fremont Street area (80.9%).