While some categories of violent crime have ticked down in recent years, more than 100 people fell victim to such offenses in eastern Dallas in August.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Council Member Paula Blackmon (District 9) was named Crime Boss of the Month for the significant spike in her year-over-year August Crime Score. The increase in Crime Score was primarily due to substantial rises in motor vehicle thefts and drug offenses. However, residents and visitors of the district also experienced their share of violent crime.
District 9 is located in the eastern part of the city, stretching from State Highway 75 to its termination at Interstate 635. It includes the White Rock, Lakewood, and Northeast Dallas neighborhoods.
Sr. Cpl. Brian E. Martinez of the Dallas Police Department told The Dallas Express about some of the reported instances of violent crime in the district last month.
Police responded to a stabbing call around 8 p.m. on August 1 in the 1700 block of Barnes Bridge Road.
“The victim and suspect were fighting when the suspect stabbed the victim in the leg. The victim was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” Martinez said.
Five days later, a shooting occurred in the 11300 block of the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway service road. Isaiah Hampton, 18, was in an argument with a person inside of a vehicle. He allegedly began shooting and managed to two hit two apartment units.
“No injuries were reported. The suspect was found, taken into custody, and charged with [aggravated assault],” said Martinez.
On August 8 at around 4:30 a.m., officers responded to a report about a shooting in the 2200 block of Winstead Drive. A number of unidentified suspects were allegedly trying to break into a person’s car. When the vehicle’s owner confronted the suspects, a brief gunfight broke out.
“The victim returned gunfire and the suspects ran from the location. No injuries were reported. This remains an ongoing investigation,” Martinez said.
DPD’s ability to respond to crime has been hampered in recent years by an ongoing shortage of police officers. A City report previously advised that a city the size of Dallas needs to have about 4,000 officers on staff. The department currently has fewer than 3,200 sworn officers.
Downtown Dallas has been especially affected by the police shortage, consistently logging much higher crime rates than Fort Worth’s downtown area. The latter is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers.
A request for comment was sent to Council Member Blackmon regarding the public safety situation in her district, but The Dallas Express did not hear back from her by 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.