Dallas Police Fight More Crime With Less Manpower

The Dallas Police Department is using new tactics in crime-fighting.

The force is faced with a shortage and an uptick in violent crimes, but say they're certainly up for the challenge.

They say their crime-fighting crusade begins with the community.

The patrol division is using everything from social media outreach, to more foot patrols to active everyday engagement.

There's no shortage of support for the men and women in blue outside Anna Hill's Dolphin Heights home.

"We've dealt with break-in's, prostitution. We've dealt with dope," Hill said.

Rather than sit back and watch, she says she stepped up and created a small crime watch, a personal crusade that paid off.

"Once they saw the interest in what we we were trying to do, then we got more support from the police department. And now you may see someone walk through here, but they're not going to stay long," she said.

It's that involvement Dallas police say is paramount for public safety.

"We encourage it. We need it. We need their help," said Dallas Police Assistant Chief of Patrol Paul Stokes.

He says the department is starting off the year with a shrinking force, an 11 percent increase in violent crime and a startling jump in homicides in 2016.

Stokes says the department's focus has now shifted.

"We're really taking a critical look at where those crimes are occurring. Not so much in big blocks, but very specific locations where we have repeat crimes," he said.

It's the eyes and ears of those communities police say that can make a crucial difference.

"A lot of people, they think someone else is going to do it and they don't want to get involved. But if people don't get involved, I don't know where we're going," said Hill.

She's on a crime watch executive board and works directly with officers in each patrol division, something officers would like more citizens to participate in.

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