Criminal homicides have been on the rise in southern Dallas, with many occurring in City Council District 8.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Council Member Tennell Atkins (District 8) was named Crime Boss of the Month for the year-over-year crime statistics logged in his council district last month. District 8’s Crime Score jumped by 39.8% due to the increases in motor vehicle thefts, drug offenses, and shoplifting logged there by authorities.
District 8 is located in the southern part of the city, comprising Dallas’ southernmost flank along I-20 between U.S. 67 and Lasater Road.
Looking at criminal activity in the district so far this year, District 8 saw a 6.2% year-over-year increase in overall crime as of November 14, according to the City of Dallas crime overview dashboard.
One of the starkest spikes was in the number of murders and cases of non-negligent manslaughter. There have been 36 such incidents this year, marking a 71.4% jump from the 21 offenses recorded in the same period in 2022.
Weapons law violations also saw a year-over-year increase, with officials clocking a 10.2% bump. There were 226 offenses so far in 2023. There was also a hike in confidence scams. Reported incidents increased from 76 to 105 year over year — a 38.2% leap.
Council Member Atkins could not immediately be reached for comment.
Efforts to get crime under control in Dallas have been hampered by the Dallas Police Department’s ongoing staffing shortage. The department currently has fewer than 3,200 officers in the field despite a City analysis advising some 4,000 are needed to properly maintain public safety.
The shortage has been felt downtown, where significantly higher crime rates are logged compared to Fort Worth’s city center, which is reportedly patrolled by a dedicated neighborhood police unit that works alongside private security officers.
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.