NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — "It's at night, at 2-3 a.m. in the morning, you just hear shots going off," a resident in North Las Vegas said.
At Civic Center and Dogwood, less than a mile away from Donna Street, a resident that spoke to KTNV said the neighborhood he lives in has changed.
"Sometimes, people just walk around and they're just waiting for an opportunity," said a resident that did not want to appear on camera.
Ramcel, another resident in the area said that since he moved here 5 years ago, it has changed for the worse. Especially with two young nieces, he has been planning on moving.
North Las Vegas police are using an approach to help combat crime in the area.
In their community oriented policing, officers with the team go into neighborhoods hoping to generate trust with residents.
They’ve been holding community BBQ's, diaper drives and going to schools all in an effort to bridge the gap between police and residents in the area.
They hope this approach makes residents feel more comfortable in reporting crime and criminals to police helping combat crime in the area.
Officer Christopher Campbell with NLVPD says "compared to the first time they did a community BBQ, in that area," there wasn’t a lot of community attendees. As time has gone on, he says more residents are coming out to these events and interacting with community officers.
