Daily Skiff

The Fort Worth Police Department's addition of another division will help police officers respond faster and more efficiently to crime around campus, TCU's neighborhood police officer said.

Though specific response times were unavailable before print, Capt. Billy Cordell of the Fort Worth Police Department, who presides over this new division, said this setup is better than the previous one.

"It gives me an opportunity to manage a smaller area so that I can provide a better quality service," Cordell said.

Fort Worth was previously divided into four divisions: north, south, east and west, but because of the city's growth, police officials thought it would be a good time to add another division, Cordell said.

Cordell said a zero tolerance team, comprising a corporal, sergeant and ten officers, is an additional resource that he can dispatch anywhere in the division, including TCU. This team was not available in the old setup, Cordell said.

Neighborhood Police Officer Mark Russel, who will patrol TCU in the new Central Division implemented Jan. 5, said this new configuration is good for TCU and the entire Fort Worth Police Department.

TCU is located in the B12 beat within this division, which runs north to Vickery Boulevard, south to Berry Street, east to Eighth Avenue and west to the west side of Colonial Country Club, Russell said.

J.C. Williams, assistant chief of police at TCU, said the new arrangement of boundaries will work well, but the only problem he sees is keeping each division staffed.

"This is a problem for many cities, but Fort Worth has done a great job at keeping these things up," Williams said. "This will be the key in keeping the service up."

Cordell said staffing is always an issue because officers often get promoted, retire or transfer, but the Fort Worth Police Department actively monitors where officers are needed.

Russell said the area he will patrol, including TCU, is larger, but this new setup will make his job easier because of help from neighborhood associations.

Russell said he receives daily blogs and attends monthly neighborhood association meetings where he hears updates about what is happening in the neighborhoods he patrols.

More officers in the area will provide a safer environment for TCU students around campus, Russell said.

Article Tools