Car burglaries are ticking up in two City Council districts, and they happen to be the ones that include Downtown.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Downtown Dallas has been logging high crime rates, particularly when it comes to assaults and motor vehicle thefts. Such incidents dwarf those recorded in Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is reportedly patrolled by a special police unit and private security officers.
Car burglaries now too might be one of the things Downtown Dallas is known for.
According to the City of Dallas crime overview dashboard, there were 2,048 reported incidents in Council Member Paul Ridley’s District 14 and 1,557 incidents reported in Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2 as of October 13. The two council members each represent about half of Downtown proper.
In addition to high crime rates, the neighborhood has been bearing the brunt of the city’s homelessness and vagrancy crisis.
The City has experimented with several homelessness response initiatives to address the crisis. One approach that has seen some success is the “one-stop-shop” model utilized by Haven for Hope in San Antonio.
Haven for Hope offers housing in conjunction with counseling, job training, and substance abuse treatment, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The group’s model has been credited with a 77% reduction in homelessness in San Antonio. It has also polled favorably among Dallas voters.
Local activist Adekoye Adams of Dallas Justice Now previously told The Dallas Express that drug abuse has been fueling some of the crime and homelessness in Dallas.
“They feed off of each other,” Adams said, noting that many homeless people and vagrants are addicted to illicit drugs. “Sustaining a drug habit often requires that … people participate in … crime.”
City data indicates that car burglaries ticked up by 2.5% in District 2 year over year. Incidents increased by 4.6% in District 14.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Mayor Eric Johnson said he joined the Republican Party and dropped out of the Democratic Party because of the latter’s policies on crime.
“That really was the eye-opener in terms of — this party is really serious about protecting the criminal element over the law-abiding folks and that they weren’t really going to change,” Johnson claimed in an interview with Fox News.
