Drug violations and theft offenses have surged in certain parts of Dallas this year.
As of July 28, three council districts in Dallas stand out from the others in terms of drug crime. According to the City’s crime analytics dashboard, Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6, Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7, and Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2 have each seen over 900 reports of drug or narcotic violations.
The figures work out to just over four drug crimes per day thus far in 2024, a considerably higher rate than in other parts of Dallas, such as Council Member Cara Mendelsohn’s District 12, where just 100 drug violations have been reported.
Despite a tiny drop in the number of drug violations logged this year, Narvaez’s District 6 leads all other districts with 988 crimes. As extensively reported by The Dallas Express, this northwestern district is known for the illicit sex trade, which drives other forms of criminality in the area.
Bazaldua’s District 7 came in second with 936 drug violations, a dramatic increase from the 551 reports logged in the same period last year. This 69.9% rise is by far the largest of all other districts.
Finally, Moreno’s District 2 — one of two council districts comprising Downtown Dallas, a consistent hotspot for crime amid a significant police shortage — logged 929 drug violations, a 12.1% uptick from the year prior.
Council members Narvaez, Bazaldua, and Moreno did not respond to The Dallas Express‘ request for comment on the prevalence of drug crime in their districts.
According to a significant body of research by Birkbeck University of Longdon, there is a close causal relationship between property crime and drug use. Sometimes, involvement in crime can lead to drug use; other times, drug use can drive criminal behavior by spurring the need to obtain cash to support a habit.
With this in mind, it is notable that two of the council districts seeing the highest rates of drug crime are also where the highest rates of theft are occurring in Dallas.
Combining motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, shoplifting, purse snatching, and more, theft rates in Paul Ridley’s District 14, Moreno’s District 2, and Narvaez’s District 6 so far this year are considerably higher than in other sectors of Dallas.
Ridley’s District 14, which comprises part of Downtown Dallas, is far in the lead with 2,035 reports of theft as of July 28. Although this is a decrease of 15.6% compared to the previous year, this works out to over 10 reports of theft made daily in 2024.
The other downtown-area district, District 2, comes in second place with 1,740 reports of theft overall, effectively putting Moreno twice on the board. Similarly, Narvaez’s District 6 makes another appearance, placing third in theft reports with 1,571 fielded so far this year.
Most District 14 theft offenses have involved stolen vehicles, with 1,111 such reports filed. Larceny offenses come in second with 507 reports, followed by theft of motor vehicle parts and shoplifting. The same pattern holds true for Districts 2 and 6.
The Dallas Express reached out to council members Ridley, Moreno, and Narvaez for comment on the high volume of theft reports seen this year in their districts but did not hear back by publication.
The Dallas Police Department has struggled to curb drug crime and theft amid a significant staffing shortage. It fields only around 3,000 officers, far short of the 4,000 a City report recommends. The impact of this deficit is felt most in Downtown Dallas, which regularly clocks more crime than neighboring Fort Worth’s city center. The latter is patrolled by private security guards and a special neighborhood police unit.
Nevertheless, City leaders approved a budget of $654 million for DPD this fiscal year, much less than the sums allocated to law enforcement agencies in other high-crime cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, believes important information about the City, such as crime rates and trends, should be easily accessible. 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.