A handful of city council districts have been racking up weapon law violations this year, logging more reported incidents than other parts of the city.
According to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard, Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6 had seen the most offenses as of December 5, with 369 incidents on the books.
District 6 comprises Dallas’ northwestern flank, running along and around I-35 from I-635 to I-30. The council district is typically known for its high levels of criminal activity pertaining to the illicit sex trade, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
The district clocked nearly 100 more offenses than one with the second-most weapon law violations, Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7. His district had 270 offenses reported so far this year. Coming in behind District 7 is District 4, which is represented by Council Member Carolyn King Arnold. Her district saw 248 offenses. The council district with the fourth most weapon law violations is Council Member Tennell Atkins’ District 8, with 242.
Every other council district logged fewer than 200 offenses.
A request for comment was sent to Council Member Narvaez’s office but no response was received by press time.
The Dallas Police Department has been struggling to get crime under control amid an ongoing staffing shortage. Only around 3,000 officers patrol the streets, even though a City analysis recommends a jurisdiction Dallas’ size needs about 4,000.
With so few officers on hand, Downtown Dallas has been seeing significantly more criminal activity than Fort Worth’s city center. The latter is patrolled by a special neighborhood police unit and private security guards.
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, believes that important information about the city, such as crime rates and trends, should be easily accessible to you. Dallas has more crime per capita than hotspots like Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York, according to data from the FBI’s UCR database.
How did your area stack up on crime? Check out our interactive Crime Map to compare all Dallas City Council Districts. Curious how we got our numbers? Check out our methodology page here.