Las Vegas Strip Police Presence Includes Kiosk at Resorts World

Posted on: August 21, 2021, 01:34h. 

Last updated on: August 21, 2021, 05:47h.

Larry Henry Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Gaming Business, Legislation, Politics, Regulation.

Las Vegas police are increasing their permanent presence on the Strip by adding a kiosk at the site of the newly opened Resorts World Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers walk along the Strip during a night patrol. The department is beefing up its presence on the resort corridor. (Image: Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Members of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department will be housed in the building, called a “community interaction kiosk,” on Resorts World property, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

Resorts World opened in June at the northwest end of the Strip, where the Mob-connected Stardust Casino once stood. The $4.3 billion Resorts World is the first new hotel-casino to open on the Strip since the Cosmopolitan began operating in late 2010. Resorts World is seen as a key element in the North Strip’s revival.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the newspaper the kiosk gives law enforcement more visibility on the resort corridor.

Lombardo is the elected sheriff overseeing the combined city-county police department, known locally as Metro. He is running for governor as a Republican, seeking to unseat Democratic incumbent Steve Sisolak.

Lombardo told the newspaper tourists are not always aware of police services, which is one reason for the kiosk. People will be able to file reports there.

And I think we should have an omnipresence or overt presence, especially on the Strip corridor,” Lombardo said. 

Another Metro kiosk is in place near the MGM Grand on the opposite side of the Strip and farther south, near McCarran International Airport.

Lombardo said these Metro sites are “a great benefit to the community.”

“I’m hoping this will get the other properties on board to include us in their future construction or retrofit,” he said.

The kiosk at Resorts World is set to open during a ceremony Monday at 10 am.

Violent Crimes

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, Metro has beefed up its presence on the Strip and nearby tourist areas at least twice to curtail gun crimes and other violence.

Last year, a surge in shootings, stabbings, and fights prompted Metro to launch a temporary program the department called Operation Persistent Pressure. 

Lombardo said many of these violent incidents were happening during the late-night “bewitching hours” on weekends. Several of these incidents were captured on eyewitness cellphone video and posted on Las Vegas media website.

Illegal Weapons, Narcotics Seized 

A second program, which Metro Capt. Dori Koren dubbed Operation Persistent Pressure II, was put into place this year.

This second crackdown received less media attention, but resulted in Metro retrieving numerous illegal weapons and narcotics during traffic stops and arrests on the Strip.

Koren frequently tweets photographs of illegal weapons that police confiscate on the Strip. He also tweets pictures and videos of other illegal activity, including video of a man who was arrested after scaling the outside of a Las Vegas Strip hotel tower to protest COVID-19 mask mandates. 

Koren also tweeted video of a man being arrested after illegally swimming in a water feature at a Strip resort. This resulted in a public exchange of tweets between Koren and County Commissioner Tick Segerblom regarding why the swimmer had to be arrested.