Community policing is now the norm in Fort Worth, not the exception. Funding for community policing continues to come from federal grant dollars as well as from the city's general fund and the Crime Control and Prevention District. The district, which was created in 1994, takes in a one-half percent local sales tax to finance the expanded law enforcement program. The district has a seven-member voluntary board and addresses violent crime and gangs, neighborhood crime, school safety and youth and police enhancements. Community policing has paid off for Fort Worth.
Crime is down - way down.
In fact, the city's overall crime rate is the lowest it's been since 1978 and community policing is largely responsible for that. The City of Fort Worth is in demand and so are its citizens. That's good news and cause for celebration when compared with Fort Worth's economic climate in the early 90s. Fort Worth lost approximately 50,000 jobs as the defense industry downsized. But with the help of Strategy 2000 and other economic development programs, Fort Worth began attracting new companies like Federal Express.