The City of Dallas is getting aggressive against code violators while simultaneously targeting blight in certain high-crime areas.
The City is implementing a new program, called “Cleaning and Greening,” designed to proactively target and crack down on code violations, while also seeking to cut down on environmental issues that contribute to crime, such as overgrown vacant lots.
According to the City, the goal is to remediate the blight faster than the current process allows for and to help reduce future incidents of criminal activity.
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. Crimes such as auto thefts have been on the rise, and crime has continued to climb in various districts, according to an analysis by The Dallas Express.
Code violators were once given a notice period of 14 to 30 days, but under the new initiative, violators will now be given seven days to correct the code violations. According to the memo, if no action is taken, city staff will be able to immediately remediate the lot.
The authority to implement this strategy is provided by Dallas City Code, Chapter 31-10: Abatement of Nuisances.
The “Cleaning and Greening” strategy modifies the current vacant lot remediation efforts by switching from a service-request-dependent process to a block-by-block approach that will help reduce the wait time for services to begin, thereby increasing impact.
The Office of Integrated Public Safety Solutions will initially implement the plan and utilize a model called Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM), “a spatial diagnostic method that identifies vulnerable places at the micro-level,” developed by criminologists from Rutgers University. “RTM diagnoses environmental conditions that lead to crime (and other problems).”
The modeling “analyzes the spatial patterns of crime incidents to determine how the built environment influences criminal behaviors that lead to crime outcomes at the same places over-and-over again. This adds meaningful context to raw crime data,” according to the Rutgers Center on Public Security.
“Diagnosing crime hot spots with RTM gives … accurate forecasts of where and why problems will persist or emerge because of the environmental conditions located there,” the group explained.
For Dallas, the data for the modeling will come from a combination of calls to 3-1-1, information on vacant properties, and crime numbers and will target the most hard-hit neighborhoods, Malcolm X and Marburg and Illinois and Bonnie View areas.
If a lot is deemed a nuisance, the City will begin efforts to clean the area. Some examples of remediation include mowing overgrown lawns, removing debris, and installing basic wood fences.
The City will also be replacing boarded-up windows and doors with functional substitutes, providing a fresh coat of paint to the exterior of buildings, and cleaning building exteriors, such as removing graffiti, for general beautification of the area.
The program will be funded using the Dallas’ General Fund, which is the primary source “for basic operating services such as police, fire, streets, code enforcement, parks and recreation, libraries, and others.” A description of major revenue sources for the General Fund can be found here.
“As we face new challenges this year, we must be relentless in our pursuit of public safety policies and partnerships that can make a measurable impact in our communities,” said Mayor Eric Johnson.
