Criminal activity in Downtown Dallas once again outpaced Fort Worth’s city center, according to the latest comparative downtown crime analysis conducted by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association.
The group’s crime data for the month of July shows that Dallas’ Central Business District saw 86 assault offenses, 43 motor vehicle thefts, 34 reports of vandalism, 38 drug crimes, 58 thefts, 11 burglaries, and eight robberies.
Downtown Fort Worth clocked eight assaults, one motor vehicle theft, one report of vandalism, two drug crimes, 16 thefts, four burglaries, and two robberies, per the monthly Metroplex Civic & Business Association’s (MCBA) study.
MCBA CEO Louis Darrouzet told The Dallas Express that Dallas city leaders have not done enough to address the city center’s crime problem.
“They should be looking at Fort Worth and dealing with the problem, and instead, they are selling us the idea that the problem is being addressed when it’s not. … People start to lose faith in the leadership,” Darrouzet said.
Fort Worth’s downtown neighborhood is patrolled by private security guards and a dedicated police unit.
For its part, the Dallas Police Department has been hampered by an ongoing staffing shortage. The department only has around 3,000 officers in the field, despite a prior City analysis advising that roughly 4,000 are necessary to properly maintain public safety.
Darrouzet said that the proposed charter amendments submitted by the nonprofit Dallas HERO are one way to address the problem.
Dallas HERO acquired the necessary signatures from citizens to put three amendment propositions to the Dallas City Charter on the November ballot. If approved by voters, the amendments would require DPD to add about 1,000 officers to the force, bolster the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, create performance incentives for the city manager, and allow citizens to sue City leaders for not complying with the Dallas City Charter, the City Code, or state law.
“They have had the same hiring target three years in a row. Systematically, we are losing 50 officers per year, and it’s a trend,” Darrouzet claimed.
“It’s going to take strong leadership, and our current leaders seem to not have a handle on it,” he said.