A total of five City of Dallas districts saw crime score increases in July of 2022 over the same month in 2021. District 12 saw an overall increase in crimes, rising from 264 reports to 314.
The Dallas Express Crime Boss of the Month (CBOM) for August, based on July statistics, is District 1 Councilman Chad West. He is no stranger to the crown, as he and his district have earned the dubious honor four times this year.
However, Cara Mendelsohn, councilwoman from Dallas District 12, has never been mentioned in the CBOM feature until this month. Crimes in District 12 increased last July by 11.26%, giving the district a crime score increase of 2.83%, the city’s fifth-largest crime score increase.
The crime score for each district is calculated after weighing each crime according to severity; for example, a homicide earns 100 points, whereas a traffic violation nets a score of five. Due to the nature of the crimes in District 12 last month, the district’s Crime Score increased 2.38% over July of last year.
Dallas has historically struggled with crime, outpacing Houston, El Paso, and Austin to earn first place in a Neighborhood Scout ranking of Texas cities with the highest rate of violent crimes. The city outstrips the national average in almost every crime metric and is currently dealing with one of the highest murder rates in its history.
Fortunately, there were no homicides in District 12 last month; the most heavily weighted crimes that occurred in the district were its 18 assaults, each of which fetched 50 points.
District 12 saw increases in 10 crime categories, most notably in Motor Vehicle Theft, a crime that plagues the entire city of Dallas. In District 12, reports of this crime rose by 52.94% (up from 34 to 52). Larceny/Theft Offenses saw the second highest increase in the district, jumping from 83 in July ’21 to 100 in July ’22.
The other eight crime categories which increased in District 12 last month were:
- Hazardous Traffic Violations: up from seven to 17.
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: up from six to 16.
- Public Intoxication: up from eight to 14.
- Animal Offenses: up from zero to six.
- Weapon Law Violations: up from zero to four.
- Stolen Property Offenses: up from zero to three.
- Nonviolent Family Offenses: up from two to four.
- Driving Under the Influence: up from one to two.
Mendelsohn and several of her fellow councilmembers hosted a crime summit this week. She explained that the meeting was “really about making sure [property owners and tenants] understand what’s required of them to keep their property safe and clean and healthy,” The Dallas Express reported.
The Dallas Express reached out to Mendelsohn and her office seeking comment on the crime score increase in her district but received no response by press time.
The City of Dallas districts with Crime Score increases in July ’22 were:
- District 1 and Councilman Chad West +38.35%.
- District 7 and Councilman Adam Bazaldua +10.39%.
- District 11 and Councilwoman Jaynie Schultz +8.76%.
- District 13 and Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis +7.47%.
- District 12 Councilwoman Mendelsohn +2.83%
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.