Dallas City Council Puts Police Chief on Defensive as City on Pace for Decade-high Homicide Total

Dallas police officials on Monday said the city is on pace to end the year with about 228 homicides — a total that would surpass any year in the past decade.That amount, in fact, would nearly double the 116 homicides the city recorded in 2014.The City Council’s Public Safety & Criminal Justice Committee on Monday pressed the police department’s top brass for more information on strategies to combat the violent crime increase this year. And at times, the council members expressed dissatisfaction and frustration with commanders' answers.Committee chairman Adam McGough, who requested the special briefing, said the city has a “perception issue.” Criminals in Dallas, McGough said, believe they can get away with crime because the police department is understaffed and the district attorney’s office has decided not to prosecute some low-level offenses.And he put Police Chief U. Renee Hall on the hot seat for that.“The issues that we face to change that perception does come back to the chief,” McGough said. “We have got to hear messages from you and the police department that we will not tolerate crime in the city of Dallas.”  Continue reading...