Gay Donnell Willis, the councilwoman for City of Dallas District 13, has been named The Dallas Express Crime Boss of the Month (CBOM) for September after the crime score in that region climbed 23.11% in August – the largest increase of any district when compared to crime stats from August 2021.
Willis and D13 have never earned the dubious CBOM moniker, though both have been mentioned in this feature numerous times after witnessing numerous crime score increases throughout 2022. D13 saw its crime score increase by 7.47% in July.
Still No Response From Councilmember Gay Donnell Willis
Willis and her office have never responded to requests from The Dallas Express for comment on these crime increases, and this time was no different. Still, a lack of response was to be expected — Monday, September 5, the day we received the August data earning Willis the CBOM title, was Labor Day, and all the council members and their staff had the holiday off.
The Dallas Express asked Willis for an interview this week to discuss the issues, and should she respond, the interview will be featured in a Crime Boss installment in the coming days.
Willis’ professional experience includes Fortune 50 account management at a global advertising firm, as well as promotions and broadcasting at the CBS affiliate in Lubbock, according to her City of Dallas webpage. The page does not specify the City Council committees on which she may serve.
City of Dallas District 13 Crime Score Increase by Category
Of the 30 crime categories tabulated by Dallas Open Records, D13 saw increases in 10, the largest of which – as has repeatedly been the case with CBOM recipients this year – was Motor Vehicle Theft, increasing from 106 in August 2021 to 150 in August 2022.
In all, Motor Vehicle Thefts throughout Dallas increased from 2,183 to 2,274, up by 4.16% compared to August 2021.
Aside from car thefts, D13 saw double-digit increases in the crime categories of:
- Larceny/Theft Offenses: up from 181 in August 2021 to 216 this past August.
- Drug/Narcotic Violations: up from 14 to 30.
- Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property: up from 25 to 39.
The crime categories which increased in D13 by single digits are:
- Hazardous Traffic Violations: up from 16 to 24.
- Trespass Of Real Property: up from one to nine.
- Robbery: up from eight to 13.
- Public Intoxication: up from five to 10.
- Stolen Property Offenses: up from zero to four.
- Fraud Offenses: up from seven to 10.
The Dallas Express, The People’s Paper, believes that important information about the city, such as crime rates and trends, should be easily accessible to you. Dallas has more crime per capita than hotspots like Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York, according to data from the FBI’s UCR database.
How did your area stack up on crime? Check out our interactive Crime Map to compare all Dallas City Council Districts. Curious how we got our numbers? Check out our methodology page here.
Name calling, “Crime Boss,” is an inappropriate fabrication of the real story. Labeling city council members who happen to preside over an area they represent seems beneath journalism standards. This particular report appears to show several active engagements to bust lawbreakers; public intoxicated, traffic violations and other crimes stumped. TDE may be placing blame on a city council member for their area activating crackdowns and seeing results! Lose the name calling and address the real cause of crime. Your dubious attempt to label them as criminals via your moniker is very disappointing.
She represents the area and trying to “soft label” crime does not work. Her area where she is the “boss.” Crime is up, go to your constituents and get the label off you. I like it. Make the elected officials work with the people that they represent.
There should be a serious housecleaning within the city of Dallas government. Not one of them are competent. They’re in it only for the money and power.
And they keep getting elected. You are what you eat and all…