Through our Crime Boss series, The Dallas Express provides essential and often obscured information about crime rates and trends affecting city residents. We hold city council members accountable for the crime in their districts because their constituents have entrusted them with keeping the community safe.
The Dallas Express’ Crime Score methodology has been calibrated to track year-over-year changes in the trajectory of criminal activity across the city. Crime Scores are earned and can reflect the degree to which council members take crime seriously.
In the 17 months that The Dallas Express has been reporting on its Crime Boss series, there have been seven city council members who have never been named Crime Boss:
District 6 – Omar Narvaez
District 7 – Adam Bazaldua
District 8 – Tennell Atkins
District 9 – Paula Blackmon
District 10 – Adam McGough
District 12 – Cara Mendelsohn
District 14 – Paul Ridley
While council members like Narvaez, Bazaldua, and Ridley have often found themselves the subject of many a Crime Boss article because of particular spikes in crime in their districts, they have managed to skirt the Crime Boss of the Month title.
Still, others like McGough and Mendelsohn have seen significant decreases in their Crime Scores in recent months. Based on the downloadable data made available by the City, McGough’s went down by almost 17% in February, and Mendelsohn’s dropped by roughly 21%.
However, it remains to be seen whether their scores’ downward trends can hold out amidst a significant rise in violent crime in recent months. Murders are up more than 20% year-to-date, and aggravated assaults have spiked by a little over 9%, according to a report by the Dallas Police Department.
The Dallas Express reached out to the seven council members and asked what more the city council could do to get crime under control and look forward to their responses.
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.