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Las Vegas Metro reports declines in homicides, urges automated traffic enforcement and expands wellness services
Summary
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officials told lawmakers that homicides fell in 2024, 9‑1‑1 wait times improved, and the department plans to pursue automated traffic enforcement, expanded wellness services and new units focused on gun violence and juvenile firearms.
Captain Joshua Martinez of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told the Assembly Judiciary Committee that the department observed reductions in several violent crime categories in 2024, reduced 9‑1‑1 wait times and is prioritizing traffic safety, DUI reform and continued crime‑reduction efforts.
"Our vision is to be the safest community in America — injecting humanity into every interaction and building trust with the citizens we serve," Martinez said.
Metro reported a total departmental budget figure referenced at about $1.6 billion and said it has 6,285 total positions, including roughly 4,451 commissioned officers and 1,834 civilian staff; the agency also operates detention functions. Officials said vacancy and recruitment work has improved: dispatch vacancies present in 2023 were largely filled and current average 9‑1‑1 wait times were reported as approximately three seconds, with 3‑1‑1 waits averaging about four minutes.
Metro cited a 22.7 percent reduction in homicides year‑over‑year and said the homicide section maintains a high clearance rate (reported at 92 percent). The department described recent internal changes to traffic deployment and the traffic bureau that produced a modest decline in traffic fatalities (146 in 2024 versus 152 in 2023). Metro told the committee it supports automated traffic enforcement as a legislative tool to reduce red‑light running and speed‑related offenses and is also pursuing DUI enforcement and prosecution improvements.
The department detailed new and ongoing programs: a wellness bureau created in 2023 that is now fully staffed with clinicians and peer support (Metro reported more than 400 psychotherapeutic sessions scheduled annually and over 1,000 peer contacts per month); a Safe Neighborhoods Bureau and a violent gun crime unit focused on nonfatal shootings and juvenile firearms, and a Sky Canyon substation and joint emergency training center planned for the region.
Metro also cited its detention center booking totals (55,740 bookings in 2024), and a range of community engagement and recruitment efforts, including the ProtectTheCity recruitment site and partnerships with youth mentorship programs.
Lawmakers asked Metro to provide further data on the percentage of firearms used in crimes that were obtained illegally versus legally and to supply additional statistics on juvenile firearm incidents; Metro said it will provide those figures to the committee.
The department invited legislators to tour the wellness bureau and other facilities and said it will continue to press for legislative changes addressing traffic safety, retail theft and juvenile gun possession.
