The Dallas Police Department reports violent crime in the city continues to decline with a 12.46% reduction from last year. And some city council members attribute that to department programs and hiring increases.
The update for November was presented during the Public Safety committee's Monday meeting and showed a steady decline since 2022. Violent crime numbers include murder, aggravated assault, and robbery.
Major of Police Andre Taylor told committee members that aggravated assaults reduced by 12.62% and homicides decreased 22.89% year-to-date. There have been 7,512 total violent crime incidents this year compared to 8,589 incidents last year, Taylor said.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn attributed those reduced numbers to hiring more officers in the department.
"Sometimes at this horseshoe something is said that says these are not correlated items," Mendelsohn said. "And I just think we need to point it out when we've seen such success, especially as our force has grown."
The Dallas Police Department has worked to hire more officers since Proposition U was passed by voters in 2024. Prop U mandates that the city increase the number of sworn police officers to a minimum of 4,000.
DPD had 3,215 total number of sworn officers as of June. The department has a hiring goal of 350 additional officers for fiscal year 2025-26. There has been an average of 50 recruits per class.
Council members Kathy Stewart and Laura Cadena spoke in favor of the neighborhood police officer, or NPO, program. NPOs are officers who engage with community members to handle causes of crime in their neighborhood.
"Thank you so much for just continuing to invest in that cause I think we can see at least just the education that happens in the community to make sure that we do report these kinds of crimes," Cadena told DPD during the briefing.
Council member Maxie Johnson said public safety was a top concern for members in his District 4. He said gun violence has made his residents fearful of leaving their homes.
Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said DPD needed to continue to work on education and awareness to stop violent crime happening on private property and among people who know each other.
"We can't stop in somebody's house, it's more the education and awareness part about, 'Hey, look, let's not go to violence for it," Comeaux said.
Comeaux added that the reduction in violent crime could also be attributed to DPD's efforts in arresting people with aggravated felony warrants. He said 40% of the people arrested with aggravated felony warrants have stayed in jail.
"So all the department is doing everything possible to make sure we keep putting those with felony warrants in jail," Comeaux said.
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