The Metroplex Civic & Business Association released its monthly crime comparison contrasting the criminal activity in Downtown Dallas with that of Fort Worth’s city center.
As extensively reported by The Dallas Express, Downtown Dallas has routinely outpaced Cowtown’s downtown area when it comes to reported crimes, primarily motor vehicle thefts, assault offenses, drug violations, and car burglaries. Notably, Fort Worth’s city center is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers.
However, the crime situation in Downtown Dallas could be much worse, at least according to Metroplex Civic & Business Association (MCBA) CEO Louis Darrouzet.
“Crimes go unreported because police response times are through the roof due to the police force being largely understaffed. The City of Dallas is continuing to lose police officers and now has barely 3,100 officers,” wrote Darrouzet.
“Higher levels of police presence make crime less likely to occur. The City of Dallas must get crime under control if it hopes to retain the businesses that are there and attract new ones. Dallas is investing in a new police training facility, which will hopefully help with the training and retention of officers,” he added.
The Dallas Police Department told The Dallas Express that it currently has only 3,044 officers on staff as of Monday.
Budgeting only $654 million for the department this year, the Dallas City Council voted to spend much less taxpayer money on law enforcement than other high-crime jurisdictions, like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City.
According to MCBA’s crime comparison study for January 2024, there were roughly 24 times more auto thefts, six times more assaults, and 35 times more criminal property damage incidents in Downtown Dallas than in Fort Worth’s city center.
