Council Member Jaime Resendez’s District 5 saw the smallest year-over-year drop in Crime Score in July, making him the runner-up to July’s Crime Boss title.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Council Member Chad West (District 1) earned the Crime Boss distinction for the 1.59% year-over-year bump in Crime Score his district saw last month. Resendez came in behind him, however, logging only an 8.1% year-over-year reduction in Crime Score.
The primary drivers of crime in District 5 in July included simple assaults, drug offenses, cases of intimidation, and larceny.
Simple assaults increased by 7.4%, jumping from 68 offenses last July to 73 in July 2024. Drug crimes doubled, with 40 cases documented last month. Intimidation cases inched up some, increasing by 19%. Thefts also saw an increase, with City data clocking an 18.8% year-over-year spike.
The Dallas Police Department has been struggling to fight crime as it continues to suffer from a significant staffing shortage. The department only has around 3,000 sworn personnel in the field, in spite of a City analysis advising that around 4,000 are needed to maintain public safety and reduce police response times.
Budgeting only $654 million for DPD this year, Dallas City Council members chose to spend less taxpayer money on public safety than other high-crime jurisdictions like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
Council Member Resendez could not immediately be reached for comment.
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.