Dallas police chief notes city’s long-term downward trend in crime

DALLAS. The Dallas Police Department said annual comparisons of major crime categories in Dallas show an increase in violent crime. But in a monthly presentation to the Dallas Committee of Public Safety, the police chief said their years-long efforts were paying off.

The early Monday shooting at Summerwood Cove Apartments near Highlands Lake highlights a common problem for the Dallas police, Chief Eddie Garcia said.

One incident, but with two victims – one man died with multiple gunshot wounds, a teenager was also injured and taken to the district hospital in critical condition.

“Yesterday we had one incident, one shooting, yet there were 15 people in the house,” Garcia told Dallas City Council members at their monthly Public Safety Committee meeting. The total number of incidents tends to decrease, but these incidents often involve more than one victim.

In an update to its Violent Crime Reduction Plan, DPD reports a 6.63% overall increase in violent crime over 2022 compared to 2023, a 13.89% increase in homicides, and a 13.55% overall increase in aggravated assault. %.

But the same data shows a 13.71% decrease in the total number of robberies.

And compared to January 2021, when the DPD began collecting data, Garcia said that both the number of victims and the number of incidents are showing a steady downward trend.

“And the trend lines keep going down,” Garcia said. “This is a journey that we started over two years ago. And we will continue to move along these trend lines in the same direction as today, and this is our ultimate goal.”

The DPD reports monthly on the results of its “integrated public safety solutions”, focusing on specific networks identified as violent crime hotspots.

DPD leadership continues to tell city officials that adding new officers to the force will have an additional impact. City Council member Adam McGough’s comments discussing the officers available for Dallas’ public parks and walkway system focused on just that.

“We’re not giving them enough resources,” McGough said. “We don’t have enough marshals. We don’t have enough rangers. Even close.”

But as discussions about increasing the number of officers continue, the DPD is hopeful that crime in Dallas will continue its long-term steady decline.

“This is a full range of works. There is a trend line,” added Garcia. “These men and women give every day. They do more with what they have than I think most other departments do. We are very proud of their work.”