Dallas is in the midst of one of the most alarming rises in crime occurring anywhere in the nation. Whether its thefts of cars or just their catalytic converters, or an outright scary rise in the number of murders, the crime wave in Dallas is here and its consequences are severe.
Making matters worse, homeless camps full of vagrants continue to spring up across our city like weeds. Sadly, this is not an unfamiliar sight in the modern American city, but the first steps in a descent that ends with the urban collapse of places like San Francisco, Portland, and New York.
Like these other failed cities, there is always an architect chiefly responsible for the slide into crime and vagrancy. For Dallas, look no further than District Attorney John Creuzot whose policies have made us less safe and incentivized the kinds of behaviors that make cities like Dallas ultimately unlivable for law-abiding citizens.
Keep Dallas safe recently launched a billboard campaign across the city featuring the message, “Thank You DA Creuzot For Releasing All The Criminals. These Crimes Aren’t Going To Commit Themselves.” When elected officials, particularly in law enforcement, refuse to fulfill their responsibilities to their constituents, it is our duty to hold them accountable and if necessary, retire them from public office.
According to Creuzot, his top priority as District Attorney is not crime reduction, or the protection of people and their property, but so-called “racial justice,” which produces policies like not prosecuting thefts less than $750 in value. Apparently, the best way to promote “justice” for those he believes have been discriminated against is to normalize indiscriminate injustice against property owners of all kinds.
Creuzot says that this policy simply protects poor individuals stealing the necessities of life. He consistently uses baby formula as an example. But the reality is that Dallas has seen an increase in larceny/theft of over 10% since Creuzot took office in 2019. Creuzot likes to remind everyone that he does not believe it is okay to steal, but his policies plainly speak otherwise.
Soberminded residents of Dallas County are not so easily fooled by Creuzot’s not-so-smooth talk. There is a clear connection in his theft-amnesty policy and the rise in thefts that have occurred during his watch. If you give a criminal a get-out-of-jail free card, he will use it.
It’s also obvious that the effects of this policy don’t end with an increase in just theft crimes. Robberies go bad and people get hurt. For example, a man recently stabbed a female gas station worker he was robbing. Many thefts end in dangerous police chases throughout the city, placing hundreds of lives in danger along the way. This month two DPD Officers and a civilian were injured in a car crash during one such chase.
Theft of any amount is not a ‘victimless crime’ (as if such a thing exists). What about the residents and businessowners who are victimized by this crime? What about them? Can we expect the good people of Dallas to stay here when officials like Creuzot refuse to protect them? Can we expect businessowners to want to operate in a city with no regard for their basic property rights?
Our city will die unless we get crime down immediately. Unless DA Creuzot is fired and his policies repealed, Dallas will continue to go the way of other once great cities that are now shadows of their former glory. Until Creuzot is gone, Keep Dallas Safe will continue to hold him accountable.