Though Chad West claimed the title of “Crime Boss of the Month” for the second time in three months in April, two other districts were nipping at the heels of West’s District 1 for the highest crime score increase when comparing March 2021 to March 2022.
The good news for residents of Dallas District 1 is that motor vehicle theft fell by nearly 25% in March 2022. The bad news is that District 1 persisted in being the Dallas district with the highest crime score increase this March of 13%.
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, believes that valuable information, such as crime rates and trends in the city, should be easily accessible to you.
Many are unaware that 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.
“Crime Boss of the Month” is a monthly title given by The Dallas Express to the Dallas City Council member whose district illustrates the most significant percentage increase (or most minor decrease) in crime.
This month’s crime data saw three districts in Dallas in a virtual tie for the highest crime score increase, each logging in with a 13% increase when rounded to the nearest whole percentage. Aside from District 1, which scored 12.85%, City of Dallas Districts 3 (12.50%) and 9 (12.74%) also notable increase in crime in March 2022.
City of Dallas District 1 saw a decrease in auto thefts between March 2021 and 2022, but that was an anomaly for the rest of the city.
District 3
City Councilman Casey Thomas II, the representative for Dallas City Council District 3, was named The Dallas Express’ Crime Boss of the Month in March, when the area saw a 24% increase in its crime score for February compared to a year ago.
While District 3’s crime score for March was much lower than for February (District 3 saw a 13% increase for last month), Thomas still nearly became Crime Boss for the second month in a row.
All told, District 3 saw 406 total crimes in March 2022 compared to 377 in March of 2021. The most significant increase was in auto thefts which shot up from 70 to 133, an increase of 63.
Other crime areas that increased in March were: Burglary/ Breaking & Entering, up to 21 from 12; Robbery, up to nine from four; Larceny/Theft Offenses, up to 112 from 108; Trespass of Real Property, up to eight from three; Nonviolent Family Offenses, up to three from one; Driving Under the Influence, up to eight from seven; Gambling Offenses, up to two from one; and Homicide Offenses, up to one from zero.
In an email to The Dallas Express earlier this month, Thomas said he had addressed data that The People’s Paper had provided to him with Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia.
“I have discussed the increases in crime areas that you pointed out with Chief Garcia,” Councilman Thomas wrote. “Over the next few weeks, we will look at those individual areas and identify where we have had an increase in the district and what can be done to address it.”
Councilman Thomas also said he would keep The Dallas Express abreast of anything he and Chief Garcia come up with to address the problems.
The Dallas Express once again reached out to Thomas on these most recent statistics, but no response was submitted at the time of press.
District 9
Paula C. Blackmon is the councilwoman for Dallas District 9. According to her City of Dallas webpage, Blackmon is a lifelong Texan and has lived in East Dallas for the past 25 years.
District 9, like District 3, saw its crime score soar by 13% when comparing March 2022 to March 2021. All told, District 9 had 411 crimes in March 2022, up from 376 in the same month last year.
Again, the significant increase was partly due to the rise in auto thefts in District 9, with that crime statistic jumping 114% (50 to 107).
The other double-digit crime increase in District 9 was Larceny/Theft Offenses, which rose from 109 to 125.
The remainder of the crimes that increased when comparing March 2022 to 2021 are:
Nonviolent Family Offenses, five this year and none last; Burglary/Breaking & Entering up to 28 from 24; Drug/Narcotic Violations, up to 32 from 29; Animal Offenses up to two from zero; Trespass of Real Property, up to three from two; Counterfeiting/Forgery, one this year and none last year; Homicide Offenses, one this year and none last year.
The Dallas Express reached out to Blackmon about the crime increase, but no response was submitted at the time of press.
When and if the council members provide more information about how they are working to reduce crime, The Dallas Express will publish a follow-up story.
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.
