SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department is partnering with state and federal law enforcement agencies to curb crime across the city.
The Violent Crimes Task Force was started on Jan. 2. Its mission is to go after criminals, drugs, weapons and ill-gotten cash.
"Over the last three months, we've made over 950 arrests as a result of this initiative. We've seized over 150 weapons, over 62,000 grams of drugs and nearly $230,000," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.
The task force does not focus on one particular part of town, instead it goes after violent criminals or gangs based on the intelligence shared between agencies.
"It's a good thing if they can concentrate in this particular area and clean out whoever's making problems for other people, people like us who are just family people," said Rey Martinez, who lived on the East Side.
McManus said his department, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are seeing a decrease in crime.
"I've heard a lot recently that San Antonio is unsafe, particularly when compared to other major cities. To respond simply, these comments are inaccurate. San Antonio remains one of the safest major cities in the nation," McManus said.
McManus said the task force has been such a success that he plans to keep around for the foreseeable future.
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