Abstract
Oral history interview with Lloyd Bell (born 1925 in Los Angeles) conducted by Joseph Butner on September 18, 1973 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Lloyd discusses the challenges of policing Las Vegas, Nevada where the population includes both permanent residents and tourists, and he mentions the issue of drug and narcotics addiction in the city as it relates to crime. Lloyd then talks about the development and growth of Las Vegas, as well as the environmental and social changes in the city. The interview then shifts to a discussion on the significance of legal gambling in Las Vegas, which then moves to a related discussion on the existence of organized crime in Las Vegas.
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Scope and Contents Note
Oral history interview with Lloyd Bell (born 1925 in Los Angeles) conducted by Joseph Butner on September 18, 1973 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. The interview begins with Bell’s discussion on what brought him to Las Vegas, Nevada at a young age and the early schooling and occupations he had after moving to the city. He briefly talks about his experience in the Navy and transitions to a discussion on the effectiveness of imprisonment as a punishment in Nevada. Lloyd later discusses the challenges of policing Las Vegas, where the population includes both permanent residents and tourists, and he mentions the issue of drug and narcotics addiction in the city as it relates to crime. Lloyd then talks about the development and growth of Las Vegas as well as the environmental and social changes in the city. The interview then shifts to a discussion on the significance of legal gambling in Las Vegas and its positive or negative impact on the city. This moves to a related discussion on the existence of organized crime in Las Vegas and its impact on crime. Lloyd then discusses increases in crime rates as they relate to the increase in population, and he speaks briefly about the challenges of the merge between the Las Vegas Police Department and Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Toward the end of the interview, Lloyd provides his perspective on the importance of communication between police and citizens and how that issue relates particularly to race relations in the community. Digital audio and transcript available.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish. Some transcripts do not exist in final form, therefore any editing marks in a transcript (deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked.
No release form is on file for this interview. The interview is accessible onsite only, and researchers must seek permission from the interviewee or heirs for quotation, reproduction, or publication. Please contact special.collections@unlv.edu for further information.
Preferred Citation
Lloyd Bell oral history interview, 1973 September 18. OH-00107. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
University of Nevada, Las Vegas History Professor Ralph Roske donated materials for this oral history project to UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives in the 1980s.
Processing Note
Interview materials were processed by UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives in 2017. Karla Irwin wrote the collection description. This interview was transcribed and edited by UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives as part of an ongoing effort to transcribe legacy interviews. This interview transcript received minimal editing and all measures have been taken to preserve the style and language of the narrator. The interviewee/narrator was not involved in the editing process. A digital version (PDF) of the transcript is available for research use. The audio cassette(s) for this interview have been reformatted by an external vendor into a digital format. MP3 files of the audio are available for research use.