Dallas police said Monday the per capita crime rate in the city is the lowest in 40 years.
The last time the homicide rate was this low in Dallas, Lyndon B. Johnson was president, and gas was 34 cents a gallon. It was 1966.
"This city is getting safer," Chief David Kunkle said. "We have seen decreases in every neighborhood and in every crime category."
According to figures provided by the Dallas Police Department, the crime rate dropped 10.3 percent in 2008 from the previous year. Homicides were down 15 percent in 2008 when compared to 2007. According to the figures, 170 people were shot and killed in Dallas last year.
"We were actually doing much better in homicides until December, when we had a miserable December in this city," Kunkle said.
In the final days of 2008, Matthew and Sydney Geiss were shot and killed, along with Desert Storm veteran and truck driver William Miller.
When asked about the double digit drop in crime, Dallas City Councilman Tennell Atkins said, "I think we are thinking out of the box right now."
Kunkle credited the crime drop to active neighborhood watch groups and the addition of 500 officers to the force during the past five years.
"We are adding 30 more officers to our department every week, so our department is continuing to grow," he said.
Dallas police said they seek to reduce crime another 10 percent in the year ahead.
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