Dallas Police Chief David Brown has boasted in the past about historically low murder rates in the city.
It’s a good news message that hasn’t been heard much in recent months as Dallas has experienced a spike in homicides of more than 70 percent year on year.
The Dallas Morning News reported how two more people died in a shootout on May 12 at a mobile home park in southwest Dallas.
That brought the seven-day homicide tally to 10 in the city and appears to be consistent with what’s going on this year in Dallas.
In March, the Dallas Morning News noted the rate of homicides in the city has jumped 71 percent compared with 2015. The report cited news channels KTVT-TV(Channel 11) and WFAA-TV (Channel 8).
By March 23, the city had recorded 41 homicides compared to 24 in the same period of 2015.
Police say many of the killings are drug related while family violence is rising. Violent crime is up more than 20 percent year on year.
Brown has set up a task force to fight the uptick in violent-crime in high-crime areas. However, there’s some evidence that this is not just a Dallas phenomenon and what’s happening here mirrors spikes in violence in cities such as Baltimore, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago.
The Dallas Morning News reported the city’s police groups are skeptical about the creation of task forces and want a change of leadership at the top of the police department.
Ron Pinkston, president of the Dallas Police Association, has derided the efforts as ineffective and a “Band-Aid fix.” He has expressed concern about the rise in violent crimes other than homicides, including aggravated assaults, robberies and sexual assaults.
While the city’s leaders such as Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings have supported the chief, they have warned public confidence will likely be undermined if the crime wave continues into the summer.
In March, Gov. Greg Abbott stepped in to offer state resources to help police officers in Dallas. Although state troopers will not patrol the city’s streets, they can help to serve arrest warrants.
When police departments come under pressure to achieve results against a rising tide of crime, there is often a tendency to cut corners with investigations and to arrest the wrong people. Even the forensic DNA evidence that courts have trusted for years has now been found to be suspect in Texas. If you have been charged with murder in Texas, it’s important to hire a highly experienced Dallas criminal defense attorney who will vigorously fight this serious charge.
