Recent polling of Dallas residents conducted by The Dallas Express reveals strong opinions on homelessness and vagrancy, with a strong majority of both self-identified Democrats and Republicans calling it a “serious problem.”
The survey asked participants if they thought “homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling” were “serious problems in Dallas.”
Of all those polled, 63% stated “yes,” while 19% stated “no,” and 18% said they were “unsure.”
The Dallas Express reached out to Jacob Lloyd Colglazier, who heads the public safety nonprofit Keep Dallas Safe, for comment on these findings.
Colglazier’s organization bills itself as “dedicated to preserving a safe and prosperous community, supporting responsible law enforcement, and preventing unrest from taking root in Dallas.”
On the near two-thirds majority of Dallas residents who said homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling are serious problems, Colglazier remarked, “I think it exposes the dishonesty and negligence of our city leadership.”
He continued, “The mayor, the city council, and the District Attorney constantly claim that the issue is being dealt with, but Dallas residents can see with their own eyes that this is a lie.”
“Homelessness is clearly a problem in Dallas, and city leadership could solve it simply by enforcing the vagrancy/panhandling laws already on the books,” Colglazier concluded.
When breaking down the respondents based on their political affiliations, a clear majority of both Democrats and Republicans answered that these issues were a serious problem plaguing the city.
Respondents who identified as moderate Democrats agreed at a higher rate than respondents who identified as moderate Republicans, 73% to 63%.
In fact, moderate Democrats were the group most likely to call homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling a serious problem based on the findings.
Those who self-identified as “far-left” Democrats were more evenly split, with 41% answering “yes,” 35% answering “no,” and 24% claiming they were unsure.
The Dallas Express reached out to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and each member of the Dallas City Council for comment on these findings and what they planned to do to address these issues.
As of the writing of this article, neither the mayor nor any member of the council had responded.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Mayor Johnson included addressing Dallas’ “scourge of homelessness” in his November State of the City address.
Claiming that the City has been “clearing and cleaning [homeless] encampments” by the “hundreds,” Johnson admitted more work needed to be done, so he was assembling a task force to assist.
“Their North Star will be simple, and it’s this: we need solutions,” Johnson said.