Of the 14 districts within the boundaries of the City of Dallas, eight saw overall crime score increases in June of 2022, some far more than others.
None had a crime score as high as that of District 1, which earned that region’s councilman, Chad West, the dubious honor of being named The Dallas Express Crime Boss of the Month for July (based on June crime data.)
When comparing June of last year to June of this year, West and District 1 witnessed a Crime Score increase of 45.43%. The total overall number of crimes increased by 132, from 353 in June ’21 to 485 in June ’22, for an average of 4.4 additional crimes per day.
While District 1 had the largest spike in crime, other districts saw considerable upticks as well. District 13 was battered in June ’22 and saw a Crime Score increase of 38.91%.
District 13 – led by councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis – witnessed a total of 503 crimes in June ’22 after only 388 crimes were reported last year, for a total of 115 more instances or 3.83 more crimes per day this year.
Willis has never been named Crime Boss of the Month, but her district was featured in a special report on car thefts by The Dallas Express in February. Vehicle theft crimes increased from 82 in December 2020 to 124 in 2021 in Dallas City District 13, and overall crime increased from 462 to 506, according to The Dallas Express.
Motor Vehicle Theft continued to be a problem in June, as District 13 had 147 reports this year, compared to 90 in June of last year.
District 13 also saw a spike in Larceny/Theft Offenses, as that crime climbed from 153 last June to 193 in June ’22.
Of the 30 crime categories, District 13 saw an increase in 12, but maybe none as alarming as the three Homicide Offenses in June ’22, after none were reported in June ’21. One of those homicides occurred at local Dave and Busters, The Dallas Express reported.
Officers investigated a murder at the restaurant on June 22 at 11:15 p.m., responding to a shooting call in the 9400 block of N. Central Expressway. DPD officers arrived to find Willie Najera, 28, with a gunshot wound.
Dallas Fire-Rescue attempted to save Najera’s life, but he died at the scene. According to preliminary findings, the shooting occurred following a fight. Officers are still investigating, but no suspects have been identified as of yet.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Patty Belew at 214-671-3603 or [email protected].
The remaining areas of crime that District 13 experienced increases in during June of this year are:
- Assault: up from 21 to 30
- Robbery: up from four to 13
- Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property: up from 27 to 33
- Nonviolent Family Offenses: up from zero to six
- Fraud Offenses: up from seven to nine
- Trespass Of Real Property: up from four to six
- Counterfeiting/Forgery: up from one to three
- Arson: up from zero to one
- Non-Hazardous Traffic Violation: up from zero to one
The Dallas Express reached out to both West and Willis about what is being done in their districts to combat the crime increases, but no received no response. According to Dallas City Hall, the Dallas City Council is on summer recess during the month of July.
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.