A medley of crimes was reported in the downtown area of Dallas in March, with Dallas City Council Districts 2 and 14 logging various assault and robbery offenses.
According to the City’s crime analytics dashboard, Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2 logged 959 crimes, and Council Member Paul Ridley’s District 14 saw 824. These figures put them right behind Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6, which logged the most crimes in the city at 1,051. Downtown Dallas is roughly split between Districts 2 and 14 and is adjacent to District 6.
A closer look at District 2’s crime reports for March shows that despite a downward trend for violent crime overall, simple assaults have jumped by 23.4% compared to the year prior. This crime category is the most prevalent in the district, followed by motor vehicle theft, theft from motor vehicles, drug offenses, and vandalism.
Of these, motor vehicle theft and drug crime are rising, especially the former, with 152 reports compared to 121 reports in March 2023, for an increase of 25.6%.
A recurring detail in some crime reports includes the offender spitting at another person — in one case, an officer — and the theft of metal material. For instance, a perpetrator removed copper from the outdoor AC unit of a church located in the 2600 block of Gus Thomasson Road on March 25.
In one report fielded by officers on March 4, the victim answered the door of their home located in the 4700 block of Reiger Avenue, only to find themselves face-to-face with an unknown suspect wielding a gun. While being held at gunpoint, several suspects allegedly entered the home, stole property, and took off.
At least a dozen of the drug crimes reported in District 2 in March involved methamphetamine, and half as many mentioned fentanyl.
In District 14, theft from motor vehicles was the most common offense reported in March, followed by motor vehicle theft, simple assault, and larceny. Although the reports of vehicle-related crime appear to be trending downwards compared to March 2023, the latter two categories are up.
City crime data shows simple assaults rose from 91 in March 2023 to 101 in March 2024, while larceny reports swelled from 54 to 75.
Nonetheless, two notable incidents include an armed robbery attempt on the evening of March 29 in the 1700 block of Elm Street and another in the early morning hours of March 22 in the 2500 block of Swiss Avenue.
In the first incident, the victim was threatened with a pocketknife by a robber, who stabbed them once a struggle ensued. According to police, the victim was treated at a nearby hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. In the second incident, female victims were held at gunpoint as they left a bar, with armed assailants forcing them to hand over their valuables, per police.
Other standouts in the police data from District 14 in March include thieves targeting cellphones, money, or copper wiring in at least half a dozen incidents. Methamphetamine also had several mentions in reports, followed by cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl.
As covered extensively by The Dallas Express, Downtown Dallas regularly tallies higher crime reports than Cowtown’s city center, which a dedicated special police unit and private security guards patrol.
Meanwhile, DPD has been understaffed for several years, fielding only around 3,000 officers even though a City report has recommended closer to 4,000 to meet public safety needs and reduce lengthy police response times.
Yet this fiscal year, City officials only budgeted $654 million for DPD, significantly less taxpayer money for public safety than other high-crime jurisdictions like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
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.