City crime statistics for the month of August indicate that some council districts were much safer than others in terms of one’s chances of getting assaulted.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2 saw a notable year-over-year uptick in assault offenses in August. However, it did not rack up the most individual incidents.
The council district to see the most assault offenses in August was Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7. It is located just southeast of Downtown and borders I-45 to the west and I-30 to the north. It includes Fair Park and the neighborhoods on either side of Samuell Boulevard.
Bazaldua’s district logged 244 assaults, several more than the 237 recorded in District 2, which includes the neighborhoods around the intersection of Harry Hines Boulevard and Mockingbird Lane, as well as Deep Ellum and the southern half of Downtown.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Downtown Dallas has been seeing significantly more assaults and auto thefts than Fort Worth’s downtown area as the former continues to grapple with a serious police shortage.
The Metroplex Civic & Business Association calculated that there were roughly 12 times more assault offenses committed in Downtown Dallas in August, with the Dallas Police Department logging 85 incidents compared to downtown Fort Worth’s seven. Downtown Fort Worth reportedly has a special neighborhood police unit working in conjunction with private security guards to keep the neighborhood safe.
DPD currently maintains a force of fewer than 3,200 officers. However, a City analysis recommends having three officers for every 1,000 residents, which puts an adequate staffing level at around 4,000 sworn personnel.
Other council districts that accumulated more than 200 assault offenses in August include Council Member Tennell Atkins’ District 8 (211), Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6 (206), and Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4 (202).
Requests for comment were sent to Council Members Bazaldua and Moreno, but The Dallas Express did not receive any replies before press time.
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.