After reaching record highs last year, vehicle-related theft offenses appear to finally be waning in Dallas — but not everywhere.
The rates of motor vehicle theft, car break-ins, and theft of auto parts have dipped this year in Dallas, according to data from the City’s crime analytics dashboard. As of June 2, there had been 6,665 auto thefts, 4,768 car break-ins, and 1,311 thefts of auto parts reported citywide, marking a decrease for each compared to the same period last year.
As previously covered in The Dallas Express, the Dallas Police Department had a difficult time trying to curb motor vehicle thefts last year, which saw 18,849 reports in total. Fielding only around 3,000 officers even though a City report has previously recommended closer to 4,000, DPD’s auto theft unit had just a dozen detectives handling a tide of cases, as Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia told CBS News Texas in an interview last year.
Amid considerable frustration from Dallas residents who had fallen victim to motor vehicle theft, DPD began testing a new reporting process that mobilizes limited-duty officers who gather information for the initial report via video call.
“With this, it’s taking about 40 minutes for the report to be taken and entered into NCIC, which is the National Crime Information [Center], which is what we put in to note that a car is reported as stolen,” explained DPD spokesperson Kristin Lowman, according to CBS Texas. “So, you’re looking at instead of a 12-, 13-, 14-hour process to something that can be down to even one to two hours.”
While moving the dial on vehicle-related thievery in 2024 is certainly a positive step, it is worth mentioning that each day in Dallas there are reports of over 80 vehicles being targeted by thieves on average each day. About half of these are motor vehicle thefts.
Vehicle-related crimes are most prevalent in the council districts comprising Downtown Dallas — District 2, represented by Council Member Jesse Moreno (1,597), and District 14, represented by Council Member Paul Ridley (1,783). Coming in third was Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6 (1,476).
However, Council Member Chad West’s District 1 stands out for being one of two council districts logging an increase in such offenses. While Council Member Zarin Gracey’s District 3 saw a slight 1.2% bump in motor vehicle thefts, car break-ins, and stolen auto parts year over year, West’s district, located just southwest of downtown, experienced a 16.1% spike.
West has been named Crime Boss of the Month three times this year by The Dallas Express, thanks to his increase in Crime Score. He came in third in May, beaten by higher Crime Scores in Council Member Jaime Resendez’s District 5 and Council Member Tennell Atkins’ District 8 in April.
DPD’s impact on crime rates throughout the city has been dampened by a lack of resources. However, its critical staffing shortage will likely persist due to City leaders opting to allocate only $654 million in taxpayer money to the department this fiscal year. This is far less than the spending seen on police in other high-crime jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, believes that important information about the City, such as crime rates and trends, should be easily accessible. According to data from the FBI’s UCR database, Dallas has more crime per capita than hotspots like Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York.
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.