Council Member Zarin D. Gracey has been named Crime Boss of the Month for the year-over-year Crime Score increase District 3 logged in the month of November.
This marks Gracey’s second time as Crime Boss since first getting elected to the Dallas City Council in a runoff race this June, in which he beat out his opponent to take over termed-out former Council Member Casey Thomas’ seat.
District 3 comprises Dallas’ southwestern flank, mostly running north of I-20 and including the Redbird and Kenwood neighborhoods.
The Crime Score for the council district increased by 41.3% in November, largely due to spikes in burglary, motor vehicle theft, simple assault, car burglaries, vandalism, and theft, according to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard.
Motor vehicle thefts jumped by 75%, with only 80 recorded in November 2022 compared to the 140 clocked last month. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, auto thefts have been a growing issue citywide, especially in Downtown Dallas, which logs far more offenses than nearby Fort Worth’s city center. The latter is reportedly patrolled by private security guards and a special neighborhood police unit.
Simple assaults saw a significant bump of 35.6% year over year, jumping to 99. Thefts from a motor vehicle ticked up by 12.2% to 55. Vandalism and destruction of property offenses spiked by 39%, increasing to 57 incidents. Burglaries saw a large increase of 59.1% year over year in November, with reports leaping to 35.
When excluding car burglaries, thefts of motor vehicle parts or building materials, and shoplifting, larceny offenses skyrocketed by 77.3% to 39 offenses last month.
The Dallas Police Department has been having a hard time keeping crime under control amid a staffing shortage. Only around 3,000 officers patrol the city streets. A City analysis, however, recommends some 4,000 sworn personnel to properly maintain public safety.
A request for comment was sent to Council Member Gracey’s office, but no reply was received 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.