Several city council districts in Dallas have seen significant double-digit percentage increases in aggravated assaults year-over-year in February, even as the frequency of such incidents seemingly eased in other areas of the city.
District 1, represented by Council Member Chad West, saw by far the worst spike in aggravated assaults, with a 61.5% increase, according to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard.
The Dallas Express reached out to West for comment on the year-over-year increase within his district and received the following statement in response:
“I have, and will continue to support Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia’s Violent Crime Reduction Plan. The increased arrests for these crimes suggest increased police presence and arrests for assaults in District 1.
“I support enhanced policing to continue the overall yearly crime reduction statistics that we are experiencing in District 1 … and will continue to advocate for policies that enhance policing and support for our brave men and women in blue.”
Behind West was Council Member Paul Ridley of District 14. Aggravated assaults in his district jumped by 42.1% year-over-year last month.
The next highest increase was in District 2, represented by Council Member Jesse Moreno, the current Crime Boss for the month of March. Moreno’s constituents suffered a 34.2% increase over last February.
District 3, represented by Council Member Casey Thomas, saw a 25.9% increase in aggravated assaults, while Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4 endured a 20% increase.
Despite other districts reporting statistically insignificant increases or even substantial drops, the City of Dallas overall logged just one less aggravated assault offense last month than in February 2022 (482-483).
Ultimately, the spikes in the five aforementioned districts almost entirely offset the citywide year-to-date reduction in aggravated assaults, pulling it below 2%, according to City data.
As of Tuesday, March 28, there had been 1,714 aggravated assaults committed within city limits in 2023.
The Dallas Express reached out to Council Members Jesse Moreno, Casey Thomas, Carolyn King Arnold, and Paul Ridley to ask if their offices had developed a plan to reduce aggravated assaults in their districts but did not receive any responses by the time of publication.
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, believes that important information about the city, such as crime rates and trends, should be easily accessible to you. Dallas has more crime per capita than hotspots like Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York, according to data from the FBI’s UCR database.
How did your area stack up on crime? Check out our interactive Crime Map to compare all Dallas City Council Districts. Curious how we got our numbers? Check out our methodology page here.
