The impact of violent crime on minority communities in Dallas was discussed at a meeting of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday afternoon.
Police Chief Eddie Garcia and other officials with the Dallas Police Department briefed council members on the committee on the state of public safety in the city, touting the drops in certain categories of violent crime logged following the adoption of DPD’s Violent Crime Reduction Plan.
The data-driven plan involves dividing Dallas into grids, identifying which ones were hotspots for violent crime, and then dedicating police resources to the problem areas.
Still, Garcia acknowledged that murders were still up.
Council Member Tennell Atkins (District 8) pressed Garcia on the discrepancy between the increasing number of murders and the overall trajectory of violent crime.
Garcia told Atkins and the rest of the committee that his department looks at the number of gun-related aggravated assaults as a key indicator when discerning crime trends.
“If I were to see our gun-related violence going up, and if murder numbers had been flat, I would be concerned because we would be on borrowed time. … Again, we certainly feel that by reducing gun-related violent crime, by reducing those incidents, we will reduce murder in the city,” said Garcia.
Atkins referenced an article published by The Dallas Express that put a spotlight on Districts 4, 7, and 8 for having the highest number of black murder victims in 2023 as of October 6.
“I don’t know if that’s false information or true information, but that’s something I want to make sure that I get on record if murders are up on blacks, especially in [Districts] 7, 8, and 4. … I just want to get your perspective. What is the trend going on, especially with blacks?” Atkins asked, noting that some of his constituents asked him about the matter.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12), chair of the Public Safety Committee, recommended that the question be taken up at a time when DPD could present demographic data, however, Atkins insisted police officials respond to his query.
“If the question is about the equity of the plan, I will tell you that it’s extremely equitable,” Garcia said. “Unfortunately, it’s oftentimes our communities of color in the city that are impacted by violent crime and that have the grids, and so certainly we’re mindful of that, and that’s why from an equity perspective, we’re going where the violence is.”
Garcia assured Atkins that police were going to “areas of need.”
“When it comes to the statistics of black victims, as an example, yes, I’ve said this before, about 90% of our murder victims in the city of Dallas are either black or Latino. … And so there is absolutely a disparity in our victims. There’s no question about it,” Garcia said.
As of October 9, there have been 198 murders logged by the City this year, marking a 10% increase over the 198 murders recorded in the same period in 2022. Of the 198 people killed, 108 were black (54.5%), and 65 were Hispanic or Latino (32.8%), according to the City of Dallas victim demographics dashboard.
DPD has been understaffed for some years, with the department fielding fewer than 3,200 officers. A City analysis previously advised that some 4,000 are needed to properly maintain public safety in a municipality the size of Dallas.
Mendelsohn said the committee would take a look at both suspect and victim demographics at next month’s meeting.
