Uptown Dallas Inc. has hired a private security company to patrol Uptown Dallas following the recent rise in shootings incidents in the area. The private security company will now patrol the neighborhood.
Uptown Dallas residents and businesses have grown concerned about the recent rise in violent crimes in the neighborhood. Members of the community say they hear gunshots almost every night.
Dallas police have also investigated several high-profile shootings where innocent bystanders were injured in the area.
“We have been listening to the Uptown community now for several months, and we want them to know we hear them,” Uptown Dallas Inc. Executive Director Kathy Stewart said.
Stewart revealed that Uptown Dallas Inc. began contemplating the next course of action after listening to residents and taking note of their concerns over the recent rise in violent crimes in the area.
Tier One, the private security company hired by Uptown Dallas Inc, will provide two patrols in marked cars from around 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. every day.
“We wanted to be present in the day and in the late afternoon and then mostly in the late night,” Stewart added. “It’s just important for our wide range of reasons to be present more hours during the day than we have been.”
The extra security added by Tier One will now add to other measures that Uptown Dallas Inc. has taken. Last year, the neighborhood group appointed a former Dallas police officer as the new director of public safety.
Senior Partner of Tier One, Tony Tinderholt told the Dallas Express, “We do it differently than everyone else. We care about our employees and the people we serve. We want to solve the problems, not just check a box that security is in the area.”
Tier One has its own training academy and supplies its officers with the best training, equipment, and benefits according to Tinderholt. The company is always looking to hire qualified candidates to be a part of its team.
Tier One’s leadership is comprised of retired military and retired law enforcement which gives them a unique approach to protecting the areas they patrol.
Tinderholt said that in some of the areas they have patroled, they have reduced high crime in excess of 60% and in some areas even higher.
The group is working with the Dallas PD and Tier One to make security more visible. Stewart said the decision to do so is to ensure that people know that they are there and also so that they can be a resource to some business owners in the neighborhood.
Tinderholt emphasized, “We are not law enforcement, and we will never be a replacement for law enforcement, but we work closely with them to make safer communities.”
