El Paso’s hottest party zones are also one of the city’s hottest crime zones.

Over the past year, more than 2,800 calls to the police were recorded across three entertainment districts in El Paso, according to a special El Paso Police Department report.

El Paso police administrators are asking owners of entertainment businesses to help keep the peace. City police are also increasing patrols and asking Fort Bliss officers to help out since young soldiers account for a significant number of incidents in the entertainment districts

Chief Peter Pacillas and Cmdr. Steve Lopez appeared before the City Council this week to lay out the department’s “proactive initiatives” aimed at tackling the rising tide of violence, property damage and underage drinking coming out of a handful of areas.

“This has been a multi-agency approach to this problem that we’re facing,” Pacillas said. “Our approach is to educate the business owners on some of the danger zones, or minefields, that they might be in, so we don’t have to deal with these problems.”

More:El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas talks transparency, accountability and violent crime

Among the department’s partners in the response are the County Attorney’s office, the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the El Paso Fire Department, El Paso Code Enforcement, the El Paso Health Department and El Paso Planning and Inspections.

Pacillas said a series of community meetings have been held over recent weeks to keep business operators and property owners informed of their responsibilities regarding stemming crime around entertainment venues, which ranges from assault and armed robbery to trespassing and illegal parking.

Beyond its education initiative, the department is also beefing up its presence in the three entertainment districts and working with short-term rental companies Airbnb and Vrbo to clamp down on underage drinking at rental properties.

El Paso problem areas include Cincinnati District

The report spotlighted bar fights, robberies and incidents involving guns. It also drew attention to teen parties at rental homes, where the revelry ended with teens being killed or wounded in shootings.

Police reported repeated violations of the city’s noise ordinance.

During Tuesday’s presentation, Lopez told the City Council that three areas accounted for 2,861 calls as of Oct. 31 — the 200 block of Cincinnati Avenue, the 1100 block of Airway Boulevard and the 1400 block of N. Zaragoza Road.

Of those calls, 462 involved weapons, shots fired or subject disturbance calls. Of 206 crimes against persons in the area, 49 (24%) involved active-duty military personnel.

More:El Paso police arrest Fort Bliss soldier in 2 shootings in Cincinnati district

Calls stemming from the area over the past year broke down along the following lines:

• 190 calls were made for crimes against persons, crimes that involve violence or the threat of violence against another person, with
• 178 assault calls
• 12 aggravated robbery calls.
• 1,852 were officer-initiated calls, when officers looked into an issue or incident without a call from a resident, with
• 768 for area, business and vehicle checks
• 1,004 traffic stops
• Six designated as “other.”
• 819 disturbance calls for service
• 121 for fights with or without weapons
• 52 for shots fired
• 398 for subject disturbances
• 115 for noise disturbances
• 86 for trespassing
• 47 designated as “other.”

Additionally, El Paso police made 94 driving while intoxicated arrests during the same period and conducted nearly 1,800 decibel readings, resulting in 375 citations for noise violations.

Pacillas also noted that many house parties hosted in short-term rentals and frequented by minors are being promoted within the three districts.

These parties, Lopez noted, have often resulted in tragedy. Six minors were shot and two killed at a house party on Tierra Inca Drive, while three others were shot, one in the face, during a Halloween house party.

Enhanced surveillance, patrols

El Paso police are taking a multi-pronged approach to the rising crime seen across the three entertainment districts, as well as the growing trend of underage drinking at house parties.

The department has a plan to keep business owners educated. It is working alongside the County Attorney’s Nuisance Abatement Team to hold habitual offenders accountable for infractions at their establishments. The partnership has already resulted in the reduction of criminal activity at seven bars.

“We’re seeing compliance, that’s all we’re asking for,” Lopez said. “Our mission is not to identify or target or close any businesses.”

More:El Paso police investigating shooting at Cincinnati Entertainment District

Lopez noted that Saturday, Dec. 2, a business with an occupancy of 89 was shuttered for the night when 277 people were found inside.

The Social Host Ordinance is another tool police are using to prosecute people providing alcohol to minors or facilitating illegal house parties and the department’s partnership with short-term rental companies ensures anyone barred from using the rental applications cannot utilize another.

Lopez noted that 28 officers are scheduled to work mandatory overtime each weekend to provide additional surveillance in the three problem areas and Fort Bliss officers are providing extra “courtesy patrols.”

Further, the department is in Phase 2 of its plan to install additional cameras as part of its City Watch program and has launched a “Light Up the Night” program to provide additional lighting in problem areas.

While issues in the areas persist, Mayor Oscar Leeser and Interim City Manager Cary Westin praised Pacillas and the department for its adjustments to the problem.

“I think this is a perfect example of how we can work together and be efficient,” Leeser said.

“Public safety,” Westin added, “is a total community effort.”