January’s crime statistics have not shed the best light on Dallas City Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, District 2 racked up the most reported criminal offenses of any City Council district last month, with drug crimes spiking considerably amid the ongoing fentanyl crisis currently sweeping North Texas and the rest of the nation.
However, Moreno’s stats have another driver: auto-related crimes.
According to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard, District 2 saw a significant year-over-year jump in car burglaries in January. The Dallas Police Department (DPD) logged 179 incidents, an increase of 18.5% from the 151 reports last January.
Moreno’s district — which includes the south side of Downtown, Deep Ellum, and the Dallas Love Field area — also clocked the most motor vehicle thefts in the city (171), trailed by Paul Ridley’s District 14 with 154 reported auto thefts, according to City data.
When looking at these offenses on a month-to-month basis, District 2 has actually seen steeper upticks in both motor vehicle thefts and car burglaries.
In December of 2022, DPD recorded 144 motor vehicle thefts and 147 thefts from motor vehicles. Last month, auto thefts jumped by 18.7%, and car burglaries increased by 21.7%.
Still, despite the district’s excess in reported car-related property crimes, Moreno is not alone in watching his residents be victimized.
Auto thefts and car burglaries citywide are virtually on pace with last year, with the City logging a combined total of 3,972 offenses so far.
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.
