Casey Thomas II, City of Dallas District 3 City Councilman, is The Dallas Express’ Crime Boss of the Month for March. District 3 had a 24% increase in crime when comparing February 2021 to February 2022, the most significant increase in all of Dallas’ districts.
However, Thomas’ district was not the only one in the city where crime skyrocketed when comparing February ’21 and ’22. Of the fourteen Dallas City Council districts, half saw an increase in crime, and of those, four saw an increase by double digits.
Dallas District 1
Dallas District 1 saw a 22% increase in crimes, nipping at the heels of Dallas District 3’s 24%. District 1, led by Chad West, garnered the Crime Boss title in January of this year for December 2020 versus December 2021 statistics, in which District 1 saw a rise in crime of 21%. When comparing February 2021 to ’22, West and District 1 experienced a 22% increase.
District 1 saw a significant increase in Auto Thefts in February, just as it did the previous month. (The City of Dallas as a whole experienced a rise in Auto Thefts last month.) The number of Auto Thefts jumped to a total of 107 in District 1 in February 2022, a more-than-30% increase over ’21. (West’s Crime Boss title in January came after Auto Thefts shot up 77% from December 2020 to ’21 in District 1.)
Despite an overall increase in the department’s budget, West was one of the City Council members who voted to reduce police overtime and invest millions in alternative policing, The Dallas Morning News reported in April of 2021.
“This budget did not defund the police,” Councilman Chad West said in a statement. “This public safety amendment simply directs DPD to adjust its staffing levels to lower overtime and put more desk officers on the streets, which is a great thing for our communities.”
District 1 also saw a total of 24 more Drug/Narcotic Violations reports in February 2022 over ’21 (44 to 20), 18 more Burglary/ Breaking & Entering crimes (41, up from 23), and nine more cases of Hazardous Traffic Violation cases (23, up from 16).
All told, District 1 had 63 more crimes committed in February 2022 than the year before.
Dallas District 11
Dallas District 11 saw the third-highest increase in crimes when comparing February 2021 to ’22, up by 18%. District 11 is led by Councilmember Jaynie Schultz, who is no stranger to The Dallas Express’ Crime Boss of the Month.
She became the first two-time winner of the dubious honor after earning the distinction in November 2021 and February 2022.
The Dallas Express has contacted Schultz’s office for comment on four separate occasions, but no calls or emails were ever returned.
District 11 suffered through 50 more Auto Thefts in February ’22 than ’21 (142, up from 92), 14 more Assault Offenses (43, up from 29), 11 more Drug/Narcotic Violations (21, up from 10), and five more instances of both Weapon Law Violations (6, up from 1) and Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property crimes (43, up from 38).
Overall, District 11 had 64 more reports of crime in February 2022 than it did the year prior.
Dallas District 8
Dallas District 8 is led by Councilmember Tennell Atkins. District 8 saw a total of 566 crimes in February 2022, up from 487 in ’21, for an increase of just over 16%.
Larceny/Theft Offenses crimes in District 8 totaled 153 in February 2022, increasing over 42% from last year.
The next-most significant increase in crime for Dallas District 8 was that of Motor Vehicle Theft, up 40% from 2021 (160, up from 114.)
District 8’s final double-digit increase in a crime category was Burglary/Breaking & Entering, which had 32 instances in 2021, but a rise in reported instances to 45 in ’22.
The Dallas Express contacted Atkins’ office for comment on the crime increase, but the councilman had not responded as of press time.
Dallas District 9
Dallas District 9, led by Councilmember Paula Blackmon, saw the fourth-highest increase in crime when comparing February 2022 to ’21. A total of 342 crimes were reported in February of 2022, up 8% from the same month the year before.
Blackmon is the Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee and is currently serving her second term on the Dallas City Council, according to her City of Dallas webpage. Crime in her District has so far never earned Blackmon the Crime Boss of the Month moniker.
The biggest increase in crime in District 9 was in the Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property category, which more than doubled from the previous year. Twenty-three cases were reported in February 2021, compared to 48 in February 2022.
The second-largest crime increase for District 9 in February was the nearly 52% jump in Motor Vehicle Thefts, rising from 62 to 94 year-over-year.
District 9 also saw eight more reports in Burglary/Breaking & Entering; an increase of seven in Hazardous Traffic Violations; seven more Assault Offenses; and three more instances of both Trespass of Real Property and Weapon Law Violations.
The Dallas Express contacted Blackmon’s office for comment on the crime increase, but as of press time, had not heard back from the council member.