The total number of hate crimes logged by the Dallas Police Department has decreased by three since last month, leaving six reported incidents on the books for 2023 as of Tuesday evening.
According to the City of Dallas Open Data crime analytics dashboard, the six hate crimes — which include two aggravated assaults, three assaults by intimidation, and one property crime — represent just 0.03% of the 23,601 reported crimes in Dallas.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, City data last month showed that there had been nine incidents that qualified as hate crimes: three aggravated assaults, three simple assaults, one assault by intimidation, and two property crimes.
It is currently unclear whether some of these offenses were downgraded or victims or witnesses retracted statements that bolstered the case for them being hate crimes.
The Dallas Express reached out to DPD and asked whether the disappearance of the reported hate crimes from the dashboard meant that investigators determined that the reports were unfounded, either being fabrications or lacking the necessary legal elements to be designated a hate crime.
A public information officer responded via email and seemed to suggest that was the case.
“Any offense deemed a hate crime will be investigated by the unit with primary investigative responsibility, and the hate crimes detective will assist with the investigation. Hate crimes require proof of motivation for successful application of the hate crime statutes and we work closely with our federal partners on any offenses classified as hate crimes,” stated Senior Corporal Brian Martinez.
City data indicate that three of the currently existing hate crime reports were “Anti-Homosexual.” One was “Anti-Hispanic.” Another was “Anti-Jewish,” and the last was “Anti Other Ethnicity/National Origin.”
The Dallas Express could not immediately confirm which offenses correspond to which specific hate crime target group.
Still, even as hate crimes seem to be on the decline, the City’s murder rate has skyrocketed in recent months, registering an increase of 32.73% year-to-date as of Monday, according to a DPD report.