Dallas’ downtown area topped last month’s crime statistics, with three council districts racking up the most instances of criminal behavior by far.
According to the City of Dallas crime analytics dashboard, some 2,942 reported crimes occurred in Districts 2, 6, and 14 in December 2023, marking a 6.9% increase over the 2,753 incidents logged in December 2022. The dashboard’s heat map shows that a lot of the criminal activity was concentrated in the city center.
The 2,942 crimes represent 33% of the 8,895 reported across all 14 council districts.
Downtown Dallas is split about evenly in terms of geography between Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2 and Paul Ridley’s District 14. Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6 borders the downtown area from the northwest.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Dallas’ city center has been marred by high rates of motor vehicle theft as well as homelessness and vagrancy. Monthly comparative studies conducted by the Metroplex Civic Business Association show Downtown Dallas logs significantly more criminal activity than Fort Worth’s city center, noting assaults, drug crimes, and auto theft as some of the most common offenses.
Year over year, all three council districts saw increases in crime last month. In District 2, crime increased by 7.4%. It ticked up by 5.9% in District 6 and 7.4% in District 14. The most common crimes committed were motor vehicle theft, theft from a motor vehicle, and “simple assault.”
“Downtown areas tend to see a greater concentration of offenses due to the greater concentration of vehicles in those locations,” a public information officer for the Dallas Police Department told The Dallas Express last year. “With the multiple apartment buildings, parking garages, and entertainment districts, in most cases, it is a … crime of opportunity.”
DPD has been hamstrung by its ongoing officer shortage. The department has only around 3,000 officers currently on duty. A City analysis advises about 4,000 are needed to properly maintain public safety. For their part, City officials plan on only spending $654 million on DPD this fiscal year, much less than other high-crime jurisdictions, like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, plan on spending.
Council Members Moreno, Narvaez, and Ridley were not immediately available for comment.
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.
