The Public Safety Committee of the Dallas City Council convened on Monday to hear reports from local law enforcement on the state of crime in the city limits.
A representative for the Dallas Police Department (DPD) gave an update on the City’s Violent Crime Reduction Plan, which targets “hot spots” of violent criminal activity for particular attention by law enforcement.
The report stated that murders and business robberies were up, with DPD claiming that the murder rate was being driven by “arguments” and “heated emotions.” Confoundingly, the department also reported that aggravated assaults and robberies against individuals were down.
However, the report appeared to be based on data collected through October. A glance at DPD’s Compstat Daily Crime Briefing on Monday, which includes reported NIBRS REPORT Compstat Daily V1 (1) crimes through December 11, paints a grimmer picture of the state of violent crime in Dallas.
Business robberies are indeed up, but they are also accelerating. DPD has logged a 25% increase month to date over November. Additionally, robberies of individuals have overtaken last year to date.
Aggravated assaults have also increased over the last month to date by nearly 3%, with a significant double-digit uptick in family violence, roughly 14.5%, blunting previous claims by city officials that violent crime is significantly decreasing.
Moreover, an explosion in property crimes has resulted in an overall crime increase year to date. More than 1,000 additional crimes have been committed and reported as of Sunday, December 11, than through the same time period in 2021.
Property crimes are largely being driven this year by vehicle thefts and vehicle burglaries.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, car-related crimes have been on the rise for years in Dallas, with 12,615 auto thefts reported so far in 2022, which works out to roughly 36 incidents per day across the city.
The Dallas Express asked DPD how many recovered stolen vehicles were sitting in its impound lot last week. A spokesperson stated that the department was in possession of about 460 vehicles.