Washington Post criminal justice reporter Tom Jackman sat down with John Creuzot in an interview to discuss the status of crime in Dallas and how the district attorney approaches his job as the chief prosecutor when it comes to issues like homelessness and vagrancy.
Jackman opened, “This year murder is up … but violent crime is down. What’s going on in Dallas?”
Referring to his “hand-in-hand” working relationship with Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia, Creuzot responded, “We look at the data … we look at areas that we can impact vulnerable populations … people who have been over-policed, over-criminalized, over-prosecuted in the past.”
The district attorney then said, “We know that that increases recidivism in those groups, and we’ve taken measures to decrease the criminal justice presence from this office.”
Insisting that “the community understands” what his office is doing and why, Creuzot went on to say, “We no longer prosecute for simple criminal trespass, people who are homeless or mentally ill, and when we talk about certain types of shoplifting, it’s actually a very small category … it’s those stealing for sustenance.”
On the issue of homelessness and increased vagrancy, however, recent surveys suggested that Creuzot’s policies are not aligned with public sentiment despite his claims during the interview.
For example, a recent survey conducted by Downtown Dallas Inc. found that 76% of downtown residents polled feel homelessness is a significant issue.
Downtown Dallas’ findings run nearly parallel to a survey conducted by The Dallas Express this year in which seven out of 10 Dallas residents polled did not feel their city council members were doing enough to combat homelessness and vagrancy.
And as previously reported by The Dallas Express, residents in one South Dallas neighborhood felt as if the recent influx of vagrants in their community is causing disruption and tamping down their excitement for a new $100 million development designed to enrich the area.
According to estimates by the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance’s 2022 State of the Homeless Address, on “any given night,” there are about 4,000 individuals living on Dallas streets.
Keep Dallas Safe, an organization focused on crime and homelessness in the city, currently tracks about 100 illegal homeless encampments within the city on an interactive map.
Whether the community agrees with Creuzot on these policies or not is a question that may be answered in the November general election.
However, Jake Colglazier from Keep Dallas Safe suggested in an email to The Dallas Express, “On November 8th, Dallas must elect a district attorney who takes crime seriously.”