The Corridor Court, a short-lived specialty court that exclusively dealt with crime on the Strip, could be brought back in special session this month after it failed to pass during the legislative session. 

Proponents see the court as a crucial measure to manage crime in the state’s most profitable tourism destination. Others say the court is an effort to “criminalize homelessness,” and does not effectively reduce crime. 

The Nevada Independent analyzed data obtained from Las Vegas Justice Court on crimes occurring on the Las Vegas Strip since 2012 in order to determine what effect the Corridor Court had on crime. 

A key Corridor Court tool is an “order out,” a legal decree that bans trespassers and other criminal perpetrators from entering the court’s jurisdiction. 

Critics, including ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah, have called these order outs “unconstitutional” because they “severely” restrict an individual's freedom of travel. During the only full calendar year that the Corridor Court was in session, order outs were issued at an all-time high of more than 3,100 orders, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. 

Supporters of the court, including the Nevada Resort Association and the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, have said the order outs are a necessary tool to keep crime low and ensure the Strip is safe and inviting for tourists, as well as workers and staff at the resorts. 

Comprehensive data on the court was not provided during tense debate over the court in the 11th hour of this year’s legislative session. But statistics provided in response to a Nevada Independent public records request help provide clarity amid conflicting rhetoric about the concept. 

Many cases thrown out

Order outs are often handed down in place of a formal charge, with charges only materializing if a person violates the stay away mandate. But data from Las Vegas Justice Court shows that even when a person violates an order out, they often are not adjudicated as guilty. 

Cases involving violations of an order out are frequently thrown out. 31 percent of order out violations were dismissed — only 57 percent of violations were deemed “guilty as charged.” 

Chronic offenses are rare

More than half of the people who violated their order did so only once. Chronic offenders — those who violated their orders more than 10 times — were much rarer. According to data from the Las Vegas Justice Court, one person violated their order 18 times. 

The data help put into perspective the frequency of the kinds of cases cited by the Culinary Union and Nevada Resort Association in a letter presented to the Legislature this spring — the groups had described a man who trespassed 700 times and was found with a “crackpipe” on his chest. 

Trespassing is the most common crime type on Strip

Violations of order outs and trespassing are the most frequent crimes committed on the Strip — of the 13,740 crimes analyzed by The Indy from 2012 to 2025, 23 percent were related to either trespasses or violations of an order out. Trespassing charges also have a high rate of dismissals or denials by prosecutors, with 30 percent being tossed out. 

Apart from trespassing, defendants with order out violations were most likely to have also been convicted of theft, public disturbance or drug-related crimes, The Indy found. In total, about 60 percent of the people with order out violations had been convicted of other crimes.

About 8 percent of these people were convicted of violent crimes. 

Since court closed, fewer charges being filed for Strip crime

Data of the criminal charges from Las Vegas Justice Court show that crime has decreased since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Data on criminal charges might show a slight lag as prosecutors don’t always bring criminal charges on the day of an arrest.) 

Unlike the district court, which hears felonies and gross misdemeanors, Justice Court deals with smaller crimes such as misdemeanors or traffic violations, or initial hearings for more serious crimes. 

Since the first spike in crime after the pandemic shutdown ended around 2022, criminal charges have continuously trended downwards. Las Vegas Justice Court data shows that criminal charges have sunk from 7,133 charges in 2023, to 4,956 in 2024. As of July 2025,  971 charges have been filed. 

A year after the discontinuation of the court, crime has continued to decrease, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department statistics. Group B offenses, which include petty crimes such as trespassing, loitering, disorderly conduct and charges related to intoxication, are down 32 percent since last November 2024.