An analysis of data for March shows that Downtown Dallas once again saw eight times more criminal incidents than Fort Worth’s city center.
In this tale of two nearby cities, a clear disparity in crime continues to persist, as the latest monthly analysis by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association (MCBA) demonstrates.
In March, a total of 247 crimes were reported in Dallas’ Central Business District compared to just 31 in Fort Worth’s downtown area.
Property crime constituted the lion’s share of offenses, with 62 reports of theft or larceny and 55 of motor vehicle theft clocked in Downtown Dallas, while Cowtown’s downtown neighborhood saw just 17 and two reports for each, respectively.
Drug crime was yet another crime category that yielded vastly different results between the two city centers, with Dallas logging 30 in March compared to Fort Worth earning a zero.
Downtown Dallas also led in violent crime, with 59 assaults, three robberies, and two abductions clocked that month. Fort Worth’s city center saw six assaults and no other crimes against persons.
MCBA’s February 2024 comparative study showed similar figures, with eight times more crime recorded in Downtown Dallas, as covered by The Dallas Express. The neighborhood also logged 61 times more motor vehicle thefts than Cowtown’s city center, as well as 17 times more assaults and five times more thefts.
While the Dallas Police Department has been laboring under a significant staffing shortage, a specialized police unit and private security teams patrol Fort Worth’s city center. Although City leaders recommended a force of around 4,000 officers in a report looking at public safety needs by population, DPD fields only around 3,000 officers.
DPD also falls short in terms of funding compared to other high-crime jurisdictions. New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago leaders have allocated far higher sums to police than the Dallas City Council, which approved a DPD budget of just $654 million this fiscal year.