Several Dallas City Council members recently hosted a community summit to discuss the city’s crime issues with citizens and representatives from the police department.
Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn of District 12, along with Councilmember Gay Willis of District 13 and Councilmember Jaynie Schultz of District 11, met with constituents to consider the problems confronting the community.
According to The Dallas Express’s crime score data, Mendelsohn’s District 12 saw an 11.27% increase in crime when comparing July 2021 to July 2022, while Willis’ and Schultz’s districts saw increases of 7.67% and 7.08%, respectively.
Mendelsohn thanked her fellow council members for partnering for the event and emphasized that more work needed to be done to lower crime in apartment buildings. Roughly 65% of the residents in Mendelsohn’s district live in rental properties.
North Dallas Apartment Crime Summit – thank you to my colleagues @GayDWillis13 & @Jayniefordallas and the @AAGDALLAS for co-hosting this event with me. The @CityOfDallas departments & @DallasPD did a great job. Thanks @DPDChiefGarcia and @NCNPODPD! #SafeAtHome #ApartmentSafety https://t.co/Kbt7zOThPT pic.twitter.com/KHbtLRcybf
— caraathome (@🏡) (@caraathome) August 16, 2022
Mendelsohn explained that the summit was “really about making sure they understand what’s required of them to keep their property safe and clean and healthy.”
However, she observed that crime prevention in apartments ought to be important to everyone, suggesting, “Even if you’re not living in an apartment complex, you’re still feeling the effects of that crime.”
According to The Dallas Express’s interactive crime map, Councilmember Mendelsohn’s district saw 18 assaults, 16 drug-related crimes, 105 robberies, and 177 other offenses during the month of July.
Councilmember Willis similarly tweeted that “many crime stats are tied to [apartments],” and explained that the summit aimed to “educate [apartment] owners and managers on rules, rewards and consequences to fight crime on site.”
So many crime stats are tied to apts. Partnering with @caraathome, @Jayniefordallas @DPDChiefGarcia, Code, Community Prosecution, Office of Integrated Safety Solutions and @DallasPD to educate apt owners and managers on rules, rewards and consequences to fight crime on site. pic.twitter.com/OG0hbwAR1h
— Gay Donnell Willis (@GayDWillis13) August 16, 2022
The North Central Neighborhood Police Office tweeted during the event, “Great turnout today for a very informative and engaging North Dallas Apartment Summit!”
Representatives of the Office of Integrated Safety Solutions, Community Prosecution, and the City of Dallas Code Compliance Office also participated. Members from the North Central Neighborhood Police Office along with the Dallas Police Department gave presentations and discussed solutions with attendees.
Retired Dallas Police Lieutenant Tony Crawford responded to the event, explaining, “Great to see the effort that is being put into securing the safety of multi-family residences.”
Beyond advising citizens and residents to take standard precautions and encouraging them to report criminal activity, it is unclear if any suggestions were made concerning changes to the city’s crime policies.
Dallas has historically struggled with crime, outpacing Houston, El Paso, and Austin to earn first place in a Neighborhood Scout ranking of Texas cities with the highest rate of violent crimes. The city outstrips the national average in almost every metric of crime and is currently dealing with one of the highest murder rates in its history.
Note: This article was updated on Wednesday, August 24, at 2:35 p.m. to correct an error.
