In 2019, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson ran on a platform that included public safety, calling it a top priority. However, Johnson says that public safety is not just the responsibility of those employed by the City; it also falls on the shoulders of those living there — and Dallas residents have been the unfortunate witnesses to a 13% increase in crime since just last month.
Despite Johnson’s encouragement of city residents to “be a part of the solution by taking the Safe Summer Pledge,” crime in June 2022 was 6.75% higher than the same month in 2021.
In an email, Johnson’s office described the Summer of Safety program — which The Dallas Express reported on last week — as “a collaborative effort to reduce crime in Dallas by encouraging community involvement, volunteerism, and engagement with the city’s summer activities for young people.”
The emailed statement asserted that the program is important because “hundreds of minors are arrested for violent crime in Dallas every year. Keeping them safe and busy while they’re out of school is paramount to making the city safer and to providing them with opportunities to learn and grow.”
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, is committed to promoting public safety, not just in the summer but year-round.
That is why The Dallas Express 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.
Each month, this news outlet publishes the “Crime Boss of the Month” feature to keep the public informed about crime and safety issues in the city of Dallas.
And here in Dallas, violent crime — a primary focus of Mayor Johnson’s initiatives — was up 5.17% over the previous year for June.
Violent crime includes the categories of Homicide, Assault, and Robbery offenses. There were 1,068 such crimes reported in June 2022, compared to 945 in June 2021.
“Dallas Police cannot fight crime alone, and it must be a community effort with leaders and neighborhoods working with law enforcement,” Mayor Johson told The Dallas Express.
So, how are Dallas’ leaders doing at helping in this shared fight against crime?
To start, homicides more than doubled from June ’21 to June of this year, from six to 13.
Of those 13 homicides, Districts 4 and 13, represented by Carolyn King Arnold and Gay Donnell Willis, respectively, had three each. In other words, the number of homicides that occurred in the city as a whole last June was matched by this June’s homicides in just two districts.
Assault Offenses in Dallas increased by 3% in June ’21 – up from 739 to 761 – with District 13 again leading the way. Assaults in District 13 increased by 42.8%, up from 21 to 30. The Dallas Express reached out to Willis’ office for comment, as her district performed so “impressively,” but no response was received.
Meanwhile, Jesse Moreno’s District 2 had the greatest number of assaults overall, at 106 reports.
As for Robbery, offenses increased by a whopping 47% citywide. District 5’s Jaime Resendez led the pack, seeing crime increase by a massive 525%, from four reports in June of last year to 25 in June of ’22.
However, the district with the largest number of robberies was District 7, represented by Adam Bazaldua, with 45 reports.
“The Dallas Police Department continues to focus on increased visibility and resources in areas with high rates of violence across the city,” Johnson told The Dallas Express in an email. “We also are working on the second part of the Violent Crime plan by locating criminals and networks and disrupting their activities.”
In addition, the Dallas Police Department is also working on a “focused-deterrence” program.
According to the Department of Justice, focused deterrence entails “problem-oriented policing strategies … that target specific criminal behavior committed by a small number of chronic offenders, such as youth gang members or repeat violent offenders.”
DPD plays a vital role in helping to keep people safe, Johnson said, adding it is crucial that the City continues to hire more police officers to help reduce response times.
“But this isn’t just a law enforcement problem to solve,” Johnson’s statement read. “Public safety is everyone’s responsibility.”