U.S. Attorney General William Barr visited Dallas Wednesday to talk about the ongoing "Project Safe Neighborhoods" program, a joint state, local and federal operation to fight crime.
The program, which launched in February, has cut crime in a corridor of North Dallas stretching from 635 to Mockingbird by 20 percent, according to U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.
At a round-table Wednesday, members of the FBI, ATF, US Marshals, DPS and DPD all said they believe the program is working.
"We are looking at expanding our operations to other cities and strengthening them in cities that are still experiencing crime," Barr said.
According to the FBI, dozens of guns have been seized in the PSN area and over 20-federal cases have been passed to prosecutors.
The program comes at a time when the Dallas Police Department remains understaffed by more than 700 officers and crime city wide is on the rise.
During a brief availability, Barr told reporters crime has risen in multiple large cities across America.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
"At the end of the day state and local government has to provide the resources at the state and local that are sufficient to address violent crime," Barr said, when asked about DPD staffing.
Just outside the PSN zone, crime along Ferguson Road continues to be a problem. Private security there remains skeptical even federal involvement can beat back the crime wave without addressing DPD staffing issues.
"We have a huge lack of police in the City of Dallas and the efforts of pro-active police are often hindered by their chain of command," Adriel Turner, with ARAJ Security Consulting said.
