Dozens of Dallas police officers met Tuesday night with Oak Lawn bar and restaurant owners, landlords and business leaders to talk about safety and listen to feedback.
This holiday weekend is expected to be a busy one for Dallas' popular Oak Lawn neighborhood, where people are still on edge after a 12th reported violent attack in as many weeks. Police said they plan to be out in force this weekend.
Police said they're also still working with business leaders to improve public trust. Several assault victims in Oak Lawn over the last few months didn't report what happened to police until several days later; in fact, it appears some people who may have been victimized never ended up filing a police report.
Police said it's a learning experience for them, and they're working hard to improve community relations.
"A lot of victims in this area are hesitant to reach out to police for one reason or another. We want these community leaders to go back and inform their members," said Maj. Jimmy Vaughan, with the Northwest Division of the Dallas Police Department.
Officers said it was the fourth such meeting since last month – the first, though, since the first of 10 police surveillance cameras in the community was installed a few days ago.
One thing that kept coming up at the meeting, police said, was better lighting.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Police told businesses that in the short-term, it's a good idea to keep lights on all night, if possible, and keep them bright.
Several people have reported noticing that the nearby Cedar Springs Kroger nearby had its parking lot lights on all night long. Kroger representatives attended the Tuesday night meeting.
