www.kcbd.com\/2024\/08\/28\/lubbock-police-departments-depot-unit-credited-with-drop-violent-crime\/<\/a> <\/p>\nWillhelm said now, most of the crime in the area is nonviolent, such as fake IDs or public intoxication. Violent crime, he says, is rare.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are still going to be fights. When you get people that are intoxicated and in confined quarters, there\u2019s going to be a fight that breaks out,\u201d Willhelm said. \u201cBut with our partnership with staff at all of the bars down here, we have a good way to communicate between one another when there\u2019s an issue inside [of a bar] and when we need to go in and help. Other than that, it\u2019s pretty rare.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lubbock Police Department says communication with the Depot District\u2019s business owners is key. It reports few owners have expressed concern with the unit\u2019s setup, and when there has been an issue, the police department has offered a sit-down meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people could be unhappy with how we police, but this is what\u2019s best for this area. And so if that means that some people\u2019s expectations aren\u2019t met, I hate that, but this is what makes this area safest. Now we\u2019re always looking to change and adapt and meet other expectations. But at this time, the results, you know, the proof\u2019s in the pudding,\u201d Cross said.<\/p>\n
LPD credits its method of policing the area for the reduction in crime, using a community-focused approach rather than an authoritative one.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy staff, they walk through all of the bars about once a night. It\u2019s not just as a reminder to the staff that we\u2019re here and making sure that they\u2019re doing their responsible or covering their responsibilities, but us walking through is just to kind of reassure them we\u2019re here. We\u2019re available if you need us, but also we\u2019re here to prevent anything from occurring,\u201d Willhelm said. <\/p>\n
Paul Ochoa, an officer with the Depot Unit, says he\u2019s seen firsthand how his unit\u2019s presence has changed the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to come down here and enjoy it in my younger years,\u201d Ochoa said. \u201cIt used to be pretty dangerous at some points. When they established the unit, you could just see how it\u2019s changed. It\u2019s more family-oriented.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ochoa said events like Mo\u2019s Market and the increase in families walking around the area is a motivator for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat pushes me to just make it a more safe and enjoyable environment for everybody out there,\u201d Ochoa said.<\/p>\n
While the Depot Unit celebrates success, its leaders are also looking at ways it can improve. The Unit currently has barricades set up between Avenue J and Buddy Holly Avenue every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night around 8 p.m. in an effort to make the area more pedestrian-friendly. Those barricades stay up until about 3 a.m.<\/p>\n
One change the Unit is considering is how it can rework its set up to better accommodate rideshare drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way we have it set up right now, because we have these barricades in different areas, it creates a lot of congestion in the intersections. It causes confusion with the Uber and Lyft drivers, and it causes confusion with the pedestrians,\u201d Willhelm said. \u201cSo we\u2019re going to move forward and try to set up a designated area close [by] that\u2019s bright and near the businesses, where everyone can congregate and the beginning and end of the night.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Unit is also considering a similar set up on other busy streets across the city, like Broadway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing different types of crimes that have been prevented down here through this program that we think we can apply in other places in the city,\u201d Willhelm said.<\/p>\n
When we asked whether that meant Broadway was the \u2018new\u2019 Depot District in terms of crime, Cross said no.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little different there. It\u2019s primarily a Tech crowd, so younger kids who get into different kinds of trouble,\u201d Cross said. \u201cIntoxication is mostly what we see there, whereas crime [in the Depot District] is different. There are problems [on Broadway], but they\u2019re different problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
While LPD says it\u2019s fortunate to receive adequate resources for the city, the main need to make this goal happen is more recruits.<\/p>\n
\u201cA department goal and my personal goal is to eventually expand this unit. Right now it\u2019s myself plus four officers,\u201d Willhelm said. \u201cIn the future, I\u2019d like to see that at least double.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say right now one of the biggest thing that holds us back is qualified applicants and getting those people trained and on the streets and getting them to where they\u2019re on their own so that they can come help,\u201d Cross said. \u201cTo grow means a lot of things, and it takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Officers must apply to be part of the Depot Unit. If you\u2019d like to apply to LPD, you can find more information and a link to apply here<\/a>.<\/p>\nCopyright 2026 KCBD. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – The Lubbock Police Department is marking its 5th year of reduced crime in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[168,170,169],"class_list":["post-411511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-lubbock","tag-lubbock","tag-lubbock-headlines","tag-lubbock-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411511"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411511\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}