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.”
Any DA who doesn’t enforce ALL the laws, is not doing their job and needs to be replaced with someone who understands that crimes, no matter how petty or insignificant they may seem, harm someone! That can’t be ignored in a civilized society, or it invalidates all our laws. How can someone charged with enforcing our laws, and punishing those who violate them, be seen as a competent person for the job? If he feels sorry for people to the extent of turning a blind eye to their crimes, maybe he’d be better suited to a job in social work!
Why ain’t ALL the Jan 6 Capitol rioters in JAIL,since you’re for ENFORCING ALL laws.
your reply has nothing to do with this TOPIC
I totally agree with you completely. They know a lot of the people on the streets have PTSD.
We destroyed the places that could live I and get medical treatment.
They are put on buses and sent to smaller cities in the metroplex and you know it’s the southern section.
I voted and it’s certainly not for the present DA. Stealing $750. and he thinks that’s small change. Mr. DA must GO! To arrogant for the people!
I have to agree with LoWa. As a DA, it is not your job to pick and choose which laws you want to enforce. And if you don’t agree with the laws, then work to change them. That is a huge problem with our country and our city today! The ones given the responsibility to enforce our laws need to do their jobs.
I also agree with the 2 posts b4 me.
I tell u what, i did not vote for him this time around, but i am skeptical about her if she is elected. Let’s do a merits based situation, wait for results (mprovements) b4 paying them, this includes the judges and the city council
We can not keep paying these people with no results, we should even extend that to the Mayor. DO YOUR JOB,
DO YOUR JOB…….
Creuzot as with many left wing radical socialist politicians, forgot who pays they’re salary. He does not have carte Blanche to socially engineer. He is the DA for heavens sake.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia recently bemoaned “the breakdown of the criminal justice system” in Dallas. He wasn’t talking about apprehending criminals, he was referring to how quickly they are redeposited back onto the streets.
Crime is a big issue this election and I’m so glad it is!
1)“a recent survey conducted by Downtown Dallas Inc. found that 76% of downtown residents polled feel homelessness is a significant issue”
2) “tamping down their excitement for a new $100 million development designed to enrich the area”.
3) 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.
I’ll start off by saying that I’m no Creuzot fan. I didn’t vote for him on his last election. But, look at this article subjectively. It’s almost seems like it’s a political ad for his opponent Faith Johnson. It’s very pigeon holed. I’ve been living in DFW over 40 years. Guess what? They complained about homelessness back then too! Look at who your survey focused on. Downtown Dallas areas! The semi to very priviledged. And…, the 4000 homeless individuals living on Dallas streets aren’t ALL DOWNTOWN! as this article would have you believe!
Now for the crime issue….. I cringe to think about the daily activities happening around us. Now folks are claiming a revolving door for crooks in the city. I think back on when I became crime conscious more than 3 decades ago. I specifically remember several incidents where the DA’s were demeanored for not having police respond to high crime activity because they were out on the streets harassing vagrants, the homeless and over patrolling minority areas. Citizens also complained about the high cost to the city about prosecuting lesser crimes, while the “big dogs” walked away quickly.
Damn, Pick Your Poison! Creuzot, in some opions, haven’t done enough positively to be effective, but, the problem was here before he arrived and I promise you it will be here once he looses this election. Voters are swayed by articles like this. If the papers aren’t going to be objective then they shouldn’t have the format. As much as I like The Daily Express, this is why I won’t donate to it.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! What a very thoughtful comment! “$100 million dollar development designed to enrich the area” sounds like GENTRIFICATION to me, and enrichment for those who don’t live in the area, and not affected by the crime they so adamantly complain about. I also believe that Cruezot, Garcia, or any other DA, Police Chief should combat crime (with the limited resources they have) by attempting to alleviate the root causes. Easy to complain, point fingers, and say another person can do better. But as you so eloquently point out in your reply, during your 40 years in Dallas, so far no one has done so.
Well, I guess my comment didn’t make the cut.
“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.” When a district attorney starts the conversation with this type of statement you have to wonder, what comes next and it becomes clear that this guy has become soft on crime and not up to the job. Take a look at district attorneys from big cities and they all sound the same. Now, let’s take a closer look as to who is causing these district attorneys to have talk and sound the same and be so lenient on certain crimes, I personally do not want Dallas to become another San Francisco. This district attorney needs to go. He has been in the system way too long and we need someone that will keep their oath to the position.
Is it soft on crime in the Dallas Metro area? This article is focused on a specific area, targeting a specific group of people, all while trying to sway people into thinking this 100 million dollar trash deal will fall through. Let’s be clear, they want to develop in the south b/c of the new demographic moving into the area. In addition to that, the land is cheap, even though people will be displaced or forced to move through imminent domain if the bond passes (I’m sure it will). The article is biased from beginning to the end. I disagree with some points made but let’s be real.
This is as real as it gets, the district attorney is responsible for the district and that includes the areas you mentioned, however anytime a district attorney decriminalizes certain crimes then it becomes a matter of time before things get worse whether that land is developed or not. I have read the duties of a district attorney and that is why I say the John Creuzot has become soft on crime. He has overstepped his position and needs to go.
Let me get this straight. It is OK to come to a place, be a vagrant, become. load on society and steal for sustenance? And, arresting someone for breaking a law, and then arresting them again for breaking the law is CREATING recidivism? How about, when someone breaks the law repeatedly, that is recidivism itself!
Really? Time for a NEW DA! He does NOT understand the basics nor does he live in an affected area I expect.
Creuzot needs to GOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!
As a follower of Jesus, I have to think of the marginalized first. Do we really want to punish people who are starving and can’t afford housing? The real crime here is that the rich keep getting richer and the poor more destitute.
The real crime here is we are encouraginging people to commit crimes under $750. Most of those crimes are not done by “marginalized” people. If they are living on the street it’s because they chose to do so. We have tons of resources for the “marginalized if they want it. Another note Jesus has nothing to do with this.
You are sooo out of touch with reality… This is comical
The problem with this is the people affected do not know of all theze resources and have no easy way of finding out about them.
I don’t believe anywhere in the Bible it says Jesus stole anything. Matter of fact, His Father said, “Thou shalt not steal”. Ring a bell?
Did you just wake up from a long sleep
I look at this from 2 different perspectives.
1. You should not be able to pick and choose which crimes to enforce. Commit the crime = some type of restitution/ punishment. At the same time, how is arresting and putting people w/ no home or income solving the problem. It’s simply draining public resources. Yhey go to jail for a day or 2: eat, sleep, shower, and then back on the street; creating an endless cycle.
2. A lot of support that goes towards helping the homeless are from volunteer groups and private donations. How about putting more resources to combat the situation instead of paying some of these folks for poorly thought out highway restructuring plans, i.e the mix master!
How about the dems stop turning a blind eye to the drugs being smuggled across the border by illegals. Drugs are one of the reasons a lot of those homeless are on the streets.