Councilman Chad West of the City of Dallas District 1 has earned the dubious distinction of The Dallas Express “Crime Boss of the Month” for the third time, the first three-time winner since the inception of the award.
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. Dallas has more crime per capita than hotspots like Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York, according to data from Dallas Open Data.
Ranking City of Dallas Districts Based on Crime Score
The Dallas Express ranks each district in the City of Dallas based on the crime rate changes within their boundaries compared to the same month the previous year. The Dallas City Council member whose district has the greatest percentage increase (or smallest decrease) in crime is named Crime Boss of the Month.
In December ’21, West’s District 1 saw 90 more crimes committed that month compared to December ’20, giving West his first Crime Boss title for the month of January ’22. The district’s Crime Score jumped from 204 in December 2020 to 245 in December 2021, increasing 20%.
The most significant increase in crimes in District 1 over that time was in the category of Motor Vehicle Thefts, which shot up 77% from December of 2020 to 2021, from 97 to 172.
West earned the Crime Boss label again in April ’22 as crime rates in District 1 climbed when comparing March ’22 crime data to numbers from March ’21.
Comparing March ‘21 to March ‘22, Motor Vehicle Thefts in West’s District 1 fell from 150 to 113, but the district still had the highest increase in total crime.
Councilmember Chad West’s Office Has Yet To Respond
It is unclear if changes made in District 1 led to the decrease in District 1 car thefts. The Dallas Express reached out to West’s office for comment regarding his second run-in with the Crime Boss of the Month moniker, but his office failed to respond.
Unfortunately for the residents of District 1, Motor Vehicle Thefts played a large part in the region again last month, and West has been named Crime Boss of the Month for June.
Overview of Dallas District 1 Crime Score by Category
District 1 saw a whopping 55% overall Crime Score increase in May ‘22 compared to May ’21 crime data obtained via Dallas Open Data. District 1 saw an increase in 14 of the 30 crime categories listed, and six of those categories had double-digit increases.
There were 61 more instances of Motor Vehicle Theft (115 up to 176) in District 1, an increase of 53%.
Larceny and theft numbers climbed by 38%, from 108 to 149.
Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property in District 1 rose by 32, from 28 to 60, a 114% increase.
District 1 saw a 140% jump in Drug/Narcotic Violations (15 to 36) and 13 more instances of Robbery (11 to 24) for an increase of 118%. Burglary/Breaking & Entering was the last District 1 crime category with a double-digit increase (20 to 30), up 50%.
District 1 saw single-digit increases in eight other categories:
- Hazardous Traffic Violations: Up from 13 to 20.
- Arson: Up from one to four.
- Weapon Law Violations: Up from one to four.
- Fraud Offenses: Up from four to six.
- Animal Offenses: Up from zero to two.
- Disorderly Conduct: Up from one to two.
- Stolen Property Offenses: Up from one to two.
- Homicide Offenses: Up from zero to one.
Of the final 16 crime categories, eight saw no incidents in either May ’21 or ’22, and Counterfeiting/Forgery and Non-Hazardous Traffic Violations remained consistent across both months (two and one report total, respectively).
All told, there were 592 crimes reported during May ’22 after the district witnessed 394 at the same time last year, a 50% increase.
A total of six crime categories saw a decrease in instances and only two by more than nine reports.
The Dallas Express reached out to West’s office for comment on what is currently being done in District 1 to combat crime increases and received the following response:
“Mayor Pro Tem Chad West is working closely with DPD and North Oak Cliff Police Patrol to address the increase in crime. He fully supports the efforts of Chief Garcia on addressing and preventing crime in District 1.”
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.
