LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Crime in the Las Vegas Arts District has local businesses calling on law enforcement and the City of Las Vegas to step in and help.
Bundit Buaban, owner of Ocha Thai restaurant, said he's no longer upset because incidents of vandalism and break-ins in and near the downtown arts district have become a yearly occurrence.
“We are begging the city to do something,” Buaban told 8News Now.
Las Vegas police said the same man who vandalized the Tacotarian storefront is also accused of doing the same thing at O Cha Thai restaurant in Bua Bang last week.
“The number of homeless people on Las Vegas Boulevard has doubled and tripled, and I've lost count of the number of times they've smashed my storefront windows and just walked away,” he said.
Las Vegas City Council Member Olivia Diaz noted that many local businesses have been hurt in recent months.
In response, the city has been adding extra officers to patrol the area each day to help curb crime.
“We hope that with the Pop team making regular visits and speaking to businesses, we will see a big change in the vandalism that is currently taking place,” Diaz said.
More police presence in their neighborhoods is something business owners want, but many say they've been told they'll have to pay out of pocket if they want the extra security.
Businesses like Tacotarian and Four Play Style House are opposed, saying they want the city to hold homeless people accountable for committing these crimes.
“I wish we could get more support from the city and more funding when it comes to security,” Tina Lee Farrell of Fourplay Style House told 8NewsNow.
“Overall, it's a shame we have to pay it,” Farrell added.
“The violence and crime has been getting progressively worse and I've been pleading with the city for help for five years,” said Kristen Corral, co-founder of Tacotarian.
“Why should we have to pay for private security? We pay our taxes,” Corral said.
The POP teams, which stand for “problem-solving policing,” will begin patrolling the Arts District in August. Diaz said there is already a POP team on Fremont Street that was installed earlier this year.
