In a public safety update Monday, Dallas Police Department leaders said their efforts have led to a decline in overall violent crime in the city.
But homicides in the city have increased by more than 10% since 2022, and some advocates are calling for new action.
In 2023, homicides followed two different trajectories in major metroplex cities.
In Dallas, homicides and manslaughter are up 10.4% compared to last year. In Fort Worth, that number fell more than 21% in the first nine months of 2023.
In a public safety update Monday, Dallas police said their efforts are curbing overall violent crime in the city. But murders are on the rise, and some advocates are calling for new action. NBC 5's Keenan Willard looked at the numbers.
“The direct result of that is this violent crime effort,” said Fort Worth Police Department Public Information Officer Buddy Calzada. “Different types of units work together.”
A Fort Worth police spokesperson said they believe a multi-unit approach to violent crime and a holistic approach that involves the community has lowered the homicide rate.
“We can’t do this alone,” Calzada said. “We've come to understand that we need to build trust with the community. Once you build that trust, the community will start talking.”
“They started to trust us and start coming out and letting us know where violent criminals were,” Calzada continued.
At a public safety committee meeting in Dallas on Dec. 11, law enforcement officials said overall violent crime is down more than 12% compared to last year.
“I think we're fortunate that gun crime is going down in this city,” Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said. “This is a national issue, and it’s not just an issue for the city of Dallas.”
Although some of those numbers are down, the city will have 230 murders by 2023, and the number of murders has increased after two years of decline from a peak of 254 in 2020. It becomes.
The city is currently in the third year of its Violent Crime Reduction Plan, which focuses on eliminating violent crime, which is down 15% from last year.
“The way to reduce homicides is to reduce the number of aggravated assaults that lead to homicides,” Garcia said. “And the men and women of this police department are doing a great job.”
Some supporters would like to see other strategies implemented.
“We're bringing the numbers down the same way we did before as a great city years ago,” said Mar Butler, founder and CEO of the TREE Leadership Organization. Stated.
Butler led the Dallas Credo Program, a group of civil violence disruptors that worked with the city in 2021-2022.
He told NBC 5 the city should renew its focus on stopping gun violence at the local level, reaching underserved areas and working more closely with communities.
“Build those relationships and get a comprehensive understanding of the causes and dimensions of violent crime,” Butler said. “We have to go back to basics and say what we got out of this that we need to go back to as a city.”
NBC 5 reached out to the Dallas Police Department to ask if they are considering bringing back the Civil Violence Interruption Team.
“We partner with Violence Disruptors as part of our Violent Crime Reduction Plan and as part of City initiatives such as Summer of Safety,” the Dallas Police Department said in a statement. “The violence disruptors we have worked with within the grid have been good partners in our mission. As a city, we must work together to combat and prevent crime in our neighborhoods. It also requires city leaders, community groups, pastors, and others. “Include citizens to weed and sow their neighborhoods with the goal of ending violent and destructive behavior.'' This effort includes violence disruptors who have worked hard to make our city better.”
