A new Fort Worth task force is cracking down on properties where crime and neglect have plagued neighborhoods for years.

FORT WORTH, Texas — A new multi-department enforcement initiative is taking aim at some of Fort Worth’s most persistent problem properties, with inspectors documenting more than 1,000 code violations across four locations in its first weeks of operation.

The Nuisance Enforcement Task Force, or NET Force, launched in January targeting Sandy Oaks Apartments on Sandy Lane, the Eco Motel on East Lancaster Avenue and two convenience stores — Southside Food Mart and Rocky’s II — on Hemphill Street.

“These are properties that we’ve been dealing with for years,” said Fort Worth Police nuisance abatement officer Jentry Cotton.

Teams from Code Compliance, Animal Care & Control, Police, Fire, Environmental Services and Development Services conducted joint inspections at each location. At Sandy Oaks Apartments alone inspectors identified 859 violations. The Eco Motel yielded 421 violations, while the two convenience stores combined for 80 more.

For businesses near the targeted properties, the initiative can’t come soon enough. Monica Santiesteban, who is an assistant at Panaderia La Fe near the Hemphill Street stores, said her family has battled loitering, homeless encampments and alleged drug activity in neighboring parking lots for decades.

“We’ve been here 35 years, and it’s been like that a long time,” Santiesteban said. “We’ve told people to leave. We’ve had to call police numerous times. We’ve had to make reports.”

Cotton said the properties have long strained police resources.

“These are hand-to-hand transactions that are happening for hours on these properties, and no one is doing anything about it,” he said.

Code Compliance Director Brian Daugherty said the consolidated approach marks a departure from how the city has historically handled such locations, where departments typically responded to complaints individually rather than conducting comprehensive inspections together.

“The main thing we’re looking for is compliance,” Daugherty said. “We haven’t got it in the past with our methods. That’s why this is more concentrated.”

The city has already issued 18 citations to the Eco Motel. Inspectors plan to return to all four properties every two weeks to document compliance and issue additional citations where needed. Officers from the Texas Comptroller’s Office and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission also participated in inspections at the retail locations.

Daugherty said the stakes for surrounding neighborhoods are high.

“Most residents would gladly deal with a vacant building than have active prostitution, drugs, everything else at these properties,” he said.

Santiesteban said she hopes the crackdown will help bring customers back to the area. 

Daugherty acknowledged there are no guarantees, but said inaction is no longer an option.

“There’s no guarantee that this is fixing everything, but we have to try something different,” he said.

Future properties will be selected based on pilot outcomes and a forthcoming public data dashboard.