Illegal fireworks and celebratory gunfire have spurred some Dallas residents to hire off-duty police officers to patrol their neighborhoods.
Residents of Oak Cliff told Fox 4 that the Fourth of July always brings a cacophony of unwanted sounds, some of which could prove extremely dangerous.
“With the gunfire, you don’t know where that bullets are going to land at. It can be on your roof, then you’ve got roof damage. … It could break out a window, car window, anything,” said Oak Cliff resident Gwnette Christian.
One resident explained to the news outlet that she understands the current police shortage in Dallas has impacted the police department’s ability to respond to crime around the holiday.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Dallas Police Department (DPD) is short around 400-500 officers and recently had to institute an online reporting system for certain “non-emergency” criminal offenses to free up officers to respond to high-priority calls.
“They don’t have the resources. They don’t have the staff to stay right here in our community. So we decided that we would do something,” said Ola Allen, Marsalis HOA president and resident of Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4, speaking with Fox 4.
In partnership with DPD, residents have hired three off-duty officers to patrol the neighborhood on the Fourth of July, hoping that their presence will have some mitigating effect on the illegal fireworks and random gunfire their community has endured.
The problem is not confined to Oak Cliff, however. Holidays like the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve regularly prompt DPD to issue calls discouraging celebratory gunfire, which has become a serious problem in Dallas.
“With the 4th of July just around the corner — we want everyone to celebrate safely. Random gunfire is extremely dangerous, against the law and can result in a fine of up to $4,000. Please be safe and responsible while celebrating Independence Day,” DPD tweeted on July 1.
Although random gunfire typically increases around the two holidays, it is a regular feature of Dallas proper.
According to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard for police response times, there were 5,468 calls for service related to random gunfire in the first four months of 2023. Due to the police shortage, DPD’s average response time for such calls was clocked at 322.2 minutes, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Still, given the crime situation in the city, Allen said she thinks other neighborhoods could learn from the initiative she and her neighbors have shown.
“I’m hoping other neighborhood associations emulate what we’re doing, and this will be kind of like a domino effect,” Allen told Fox 4.
The hiring of off-duty police officers and security guards to bolster public safety resources has had positive effects in Fort Worth’s downtown area, where such guards collaborate with a dedicated police unit to keep crime down. Compared to Downtown Dallas, crime in Fort Worth’s downtown neighborhood has been drastically lower in recent years.