FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – There are concerns about how many police officers are available to patrol the growing area of far north Fort Worth, and the city’s police chief is expected to ask the city council for help while presenting the latest crime statistics on Tuesday.

The numbers are not good. They show a slight increase in violent crime and, perhaps most concerning, lagging response times in the far north parts of the city. The northern parts of Fort Worth are growing quickly, as countless new homes are being built and thousands of new residents are drawn to the location.

According to police, it takes officers about five minutes to reach a ‘priority one’ call in the downtown Fort Worth area. In north Fort Worth, however, that time jumps up to over eight minutes, sometimes even as long as 10 minutes. Police blame a shortage of officers, rapid area growth and constant road contstruction delays.

The Fort Worth Police Department has discussed a plan that would create a sixth patrol division in north Fort Worth, but that is still another two or three years away, said Chief Jeffrey Halstead. In his budget proposal, the chief is asking for funding to create three new academies, which would be able to start next year. That would add an extra 90 to 120 police officers to the streets.

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