A $50 million bond package on the May 4 ballot will help fund facilities on the UNT Dallas campus, but many are concerned about the impact of its presence.
DALLAS — The city of Dallas has a number of bond proposals for the upcoming May 4 election, but perhaps the most impactful of them is Proposition F, which allocates $90 million for public safety facilities. Dew. But about $50 million of that money will go toward a new police training facility on the UNT Dallas campus.
If the deal is approved, construction on the project is expected to begin this year and the training center could be completed by 2027.
However, not everyone is in favor of this proposed facility, and many still have questions and concerns. A local organization, Stop Cop City Dallas, was formed to spread awareness of the facility, knocking on doors and holding town halls to voice concerns about the facility and field concerns and questions from area residents. listening.
The facility will be located in Ward 8, a district that is 51% black and 45% Hispanic or Latino, according to 2022 city data.
“We're concerned that it will have a disproportionate impact on that community,” said Stop Cop City Dallas organizer Tamera Hutcherson. “As we do street outreach in the 8th District, a common story we hear from residents in the District is why don’t we invest in other means of public safety instead of police?”
Instead of looking at the root causes of why people commit crimes, she said, public safety is often equated with more police as a solution. That's true, Hutcherson said.
“Social inequality often drives people to commit crime, but residents are saying, 'Why don't we invest in more affordable housing and more mental health care?'” Hutcherson said. Told. “I know that the Dallas Police Department has an appropriate care unit program that is a comparable model, but especially when the Dallas County Jail is the largest repository for people with mental health diagnoses. So why not expand on that?”
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said the department is trying to hire more officers and provide better training, but the current police academy is old and outdated.
“Honestly, this is embarrassing and doesn't represent who we are,” Garcia said of the current academy. “They deserve better. Our city deserves better.”
assistant. Chief Katrina Shihed, who joined the department 28 years ago, said the academy continues to fall into disrepair.
“It's exactly the same and I can live with some improvement,” Shihed said.
The Academy was built in 1990 as a temporary facility in the Red Bird District, and more than 30 years later it is still functioning as an academy. Police officers sometimes relied on their own improvements.
“Recently, our law enforcement officers spent $4,000 in wood and supplies to build their own improvised, reality-based training scenarios,” Garcia said.
Stop Cop City is a movement that began in Atlanta, where the Atlanta Police Department plans to build the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, an 85-acre facility that critics say will further militarize police departments. I am concerned that this may be the case. And there are plans to open numerous training centers across the country, such as those in Atlanta and Dallas.
Hutcherson said many District 8 residents feel like they don't have the proper infrastructure in place to deal with issues in their neighborhood.
“If you look at the city budget, about 60% goes to public safety and 1% goes to housing,” she says. “It's a very clear disparity.”
Another factor at issue with Stop Cop City Dallas is that construction of the project will require the removal of large amounts of green space on UNT Dallas' campus.
“Dallas has a heat island, which is causing temperatures to rise, which is also an environmental issue,” Hutcherson said.
UNT Dallas President Bob Mong said the project will take a long time.
“For years, leaders in this community have said it's time to provide best-in-class police training,” Mon said.
Hutcherson said he has also heard that UNT Dallas has a high concentration of undocumented students. SB 4, which has not yet taken effect, could also give local police the power to stop and jail suspected non-Americans, Hutcherson said.
According to DPD, this is supposed to be a regional training facility, but little information has yet been released about exactly which law enforcement agencies will be trained there or what training and tactics will be conducted. do not have.
“Why are we telling voters to vote yes on this when we don't even have the information or facts to make an informed decision about this?” Hutcherson asked.
