While assault offenses in Dallas appear to be dipping from last year’s figures, black and Hispanic individuals continue to make up the overwhelming majority of assault victims.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, black and Hispanic people made up the bulk of violent crime victims last year by a wide margin, and that trend has not budged.
Three types of crimes fall under the assault offense category: simple assault, aggravated assault, and intimidation. So far this year, the Dallas Police Department has clocked 11,873 assault offenses as of June 21, a decrease from the 12,428 logged during the same period in 2023, according to the City of Dallas victim demographics dashboard.
Even still, black individuals constituted 44.8% of the total number of victims, and Hispanic victims comprised 37.6%.
This pattern is unfolding against the backdrop of DPD’s ongoing officer shortage. The department only fields around 3,000 officers, even though a prior City analysis asserted that roughly 4,000 are necessary to properly police the jurisdiction and get response times to reasonable levels.
Moreover, DPD’s budget is only $645 million this fiscal year, as the Dallas City Council opted to spend far less taxpayer money on policing than other high-crime municipalities, such as Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles.
Only three Dallas City Council districts have recorded more than 1,000 assaults of black or Hispanic individuals this year: Council Member Carolyn King Arnold’s District 4 (1,016), Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7 (1,240), and Council Member Tennell Atkins’ District 8 (1,042).
The council districts with the fewest assaults on black and Hispanic people include Council Member Paula Blackmon’s District 9 (372), Council Member Jaynie Schultz’s District 11 (424), Council Member Cara Mendelsohn’s District 12 (420), and Council Member Gay Donnell Willis’ District 13 (298).
