Robbery offenses have surged in certain parts of Dallas despite an overall rate drop seen citywide compared to last year.
According to data from the city’s crime analytics dashboard, 937 robberies had been reported in Dallas as of June 3. Although this represents a 4.6% drop compared to the same period last year, these figures tell only part of the story.
Looking at robberies by council district, Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6 — tucked in the northwest and known for being ground zero for the commercial sex trade — leads with 112 reports so far this year. Districts 2 (Jesse Moreno), 7 (Adam Bazaldua), and 4 (Carolyn King Arnold) are not far behind, with 96, 94, and 87 reported offenses, respectively.
District 11, represented by Council Member Jaynie Schultz, has seen 60 robberies this year compared to just 41 last year — a significant 46.3% uptick. Likewise, robbery rates in districts 1, 2, 9, and 12 have seen double-digit increases.
Zooming back out to Dallas overall, it is worth noting that despite the Dallas Police Department working hard to curb violent crime, robbery rates remain fairly consistent. Each month, this crime category has represented 19-20% of all crimes reported.
While roughly half of robberies were said to have taken place during DPD’s third watch (between 4 and 11:59 p.m.), they seem to be pretty much as likely to occur on a weekend as on a weekday. Data shows the share of robberies per day ranging between a low of 12.8% on Tuesday and Friday and a high of 16.6% on Saturday.
Although the City of Dallas provides demographic data on the victims of violent crime, robberies against persons are not included in the categories. Of those targeted by violent criminals, 44.7% are black and 37.8% are Hispanic. As covered in The Dallas Express, this is a regular trend in Dallas.
DPD has focused on reducing crime through hotspot policing, which focuses manpower on smaller areas. While it has produced results in these areas, the catchment areas saw a 6% bump in crime, as a DPD presentation in April showed. Notably, robberies targeting businesses increased by 21.1%, while those targeting individuals fell by 10.4%.
As reported recently in The Dallas Express, DPD struggles with keeping its response times down due to a significant officer shortage. Just around 3,000 police officers currently work in the field whereas a City report recommended a force of 4,000 to best ensure public safety.
As of June 3, 61% of robberies in progress — considered a top priority call — receive an officer response within 8 minutes, which is the goal. The south-central division struggles the most, logging an average response time of 11.2 minutes, followed by the southwest division at an average response time of 9.8 minutes.
DPD faces an uphill climb to improve its responses to crime due to the Dallas City Council allocating just $654 million to the department this fiscal year. This is far less than the spending approved for police in other high-crime jurisdictions, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
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.