El Paso Police Report Crime Down 3%

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — According to the El Paso Police Department (EPPD), crime in El Paso is down 3% compared to the same time period last year.

El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said in a presentation at a City Council meeting that crime has decreased in all categories, including murder, robberies and assaults.

Sergeant Javier Sambrano of the EPPD told ABC-7 that the relationship the police have with the community has been a major factor in reducing crime, as people report anything they find suspicious.

Sambrano says many of the crimes EPPD has seen are crimes of opportunity. This often occurs when people break into a vehicle to steal property after it was left open, unlocked, or valuables were left in plain view.

City Rep. Henry Rivera said he posted this discussion and presentation by the EPPD on crime statistics following the arrest of a member of the Tren de Aragua gang by the El Paso Border Patrol.

On Monday, September 24, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owen reported in a dispatch that a member of the Tren de Aragua gang had been arrested in El Paso.

Something that Rep. Rivera and El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said actually happened in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. A location that is part of the El Paso Border Patrol sector.

“I decided to put this item on the agenda because there is a lot of talk about crime in the city,” Rivera said.

Rivera said Chief Owen’s post should have emphasized that this was happening in the Border Patrol’s El Paso sector and not in El Paso. Rivera also said he believed this was a great opportunity for EPPD to “counter claims” that crime has increased in El Paso.

According to police chief Pacillas, the EPPD cannot confirm that there are members of Tren de Aragua, because they are subject to a criminal code.

“The El Paso Police Department has not identified people based on state criteria, the law, to place them in TXGANG as confirmed gang members,” Pacillas said.

Pacillas did say, however, that Tren de Aragua is located in El Paso, like in other major cities.

Chief Pacillas said the EPPD and their “Gang Task Force” are working with local, state and federal agencies to put pressure on gangs in El Paso, including Tren de Aragua.