The new data comes as the department prepares to welcome a new police chief.
DALLAS — Most violent crime is down in Dallas, but police response times remain a concern, Dallas officials said this week.
Maj. Nathan Swyers of the Dallas Police Department’s Violent Crime Division said violent crime is down in Dallas by about 13%, driven by an 11.2% decrease in aggravated assaults (amounting to about 150 fewer victims) and a 44.23% drop in homicides (amounting to 23 fewer victims) over the last year, according to data as of March 31.
Dallas police also reported an 11.42% drop in robberies (amounting to 62 fewer victims), a nearly 8% drop in business robberies (about 10 fewer victims), and a 12.53% decrease in individual robberies (52 fewer victims), Swyers said.
“There’s just no denying the decrease in violent crime,” Dallas city council member Cara Mendelsohn said.
Some city council members continued to express concerns about Dallas police response times, though.
“I just want to register that as I look at the response times, I continue to be concerned,” Dallas City Council member Gay Donnell Willis said. “I know one of the things that was being discussed or up for examination is the distinction between DPD’s long list of categories that qualify as a priority one call and how some other markets have adjusted that.”
Jesse Reyes of the Dallas Police Department said the potential for the department to move certain types of calls out of the priority one category to help reduce response times remains under consideration.
Reyes said the department is also working to boost staffing and improve retention, which are also expected to help with response times.
The crime data comes as Daniel Comeaux, the Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Houston Division, prepares to take over as the next Dallas Police Chief April 23.
Former Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia introduced a violent crime reduction plan for the department in 2021. The plan included strategies like hotspot policing, partnering with community groups and more.
