Fort Worth Police Department Strategic Plan
Socioeconomic Statistics According to the 2014 American Community Survey, the percentage of total population below the poverty level in Fort Worth is 19.4 percent, a statistic that is higher than the average in both Texas, and the United States. Additionally, median household income level of education attainment, and the percent of the population over the age of 5 who do not speak English “very well” in Fort Worth is lower than the statistical average in Texas and the United States. The table below summarizes socio-economic data in Fort Worth compared to those of Texas and the entire United States.
Figure 2.7. Fort Worth Socioeconomic Statistics
Crime Trends In response to one of the highest crime rates in the nation during the late 1980s and early 1990s, FWPD adopted the community-oriented policing philosophy. The department developed more partnerships throughout the city, supported neighborhood organizations, businesses, and volunteers, to organize grassroots, community-based campaigns to fight crime. The coupling of community-oriented and intelligence-led policing as explained later in this plan has enhanced the department’s abilities to address criminal activity cooperatively and collaboratively throughout the community, creating one of the safest cities in the nation. Over the last five years, crime decreased even as population increased and police staffing levels remained relatively flat (see Staffing Models and Workload Analysis). As displayed on the trend chart on the next page, Fort Worth experienced a 20.9 percent reduction in the crime rate since 2012 while the city’s population increased 9.1 percent.
Fort Worth Demographics and Trends
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