City data indicates that black and Hispanic individuals are still comprising the overwhelming majority of victims of “crimes against person.”
According to the City of Dallas crime victim demographics dashboard, there have been 2,039 such offenses committed within the city limits as of February 2. Crimes against person include murder, assault offenses, sex offenses, kidnapping, and human trafficking.
Some 47.4% of victims were black, with a median age of 33. Additionally, 620 of the 967 black victims were logged as female. Council Member Adam Bazaldua’s District 7 saw the most crimes against person committed against black people, clocking 163 incidents. District 8, which is represented by Council Member Tennell Atkins, came in with the second-most incidents at 129.
Hispanic or Latino individuals comprised 34.3% of victims, with a median age of 30. Some 409 of the 699 victims were recorded as being female. The council district with the most offenses committed against Hispanic people was District 6, which Council Member Omar Narvaez represents. City officials logged 104 crimes against person committed against Hispanics in Narvaez’s district, considerably more than Districts 1 and 2, which trailed behind with 71 and 72 reports, respectively. Council Member Chad West represents District 1, and Council Member Jesse Moreno represents District 2.
Budgeting only $654 million for the Dallas Police Department this year, City leaders are poised to spend much less taxpayer money on public safety than other high-crime cities, like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The City’s budget for this fiscal year was adopted despite DPD’s substantial shortage of police officers.
The department currently has only around 3,000 officers on staff even though a City report recommends that roughly 4,000 are necessary to properly maintain public safety and reduce police response times. Downtown Dallas, which borders District 6 and District 7, has been impacted by the shortage, routinely logging more criminal activity than Fort Worth’s downtown area. A dedicated police unit works in collaboration with private security guards to patrol the latter.
