Dallas

Numbers Show Spike in Dallas Crime in Past Year, DPD Says There's More to the Data

Dallas PD is also gearing up for increased patrol this holiday season

We're taking a look at latest crime stats in the City of Dallas.

NBC 5 crunched the latest numbers and found an increase in the number of homicides, aggravated assaults and individual robberies this year compared to last year.

So far this year, there have been 175 homicides in the Dallas. Last year, there were 137 in total for the entire year. That's a 27% increase.

Dallas police say there is more to the data.

"I think if you look over all of the year-to-date numbers, the increase in murders is highly attributable to the surprising spike of murders that occurred in the month of May," said Dallas Police Maj. Max Geron. "The uptick in May was not something to be expected but we are working very diligently with our law enforcement partners to try to continue the reduction that we are seeing another areas."

If you keep looking, you'll see aggravated assaults have also spiked 27% compared to last year. There's also a 14% increase in robberies of individuals.

These crimes have been dispersed throughout the city, Dallas PD couldn’t clarify where the hotspots were, but Geron added this doesn't necessarily point to an overall increase in crime.

"I think some of it is a statistical part. If you look at our numbers, we are at record lows and we are coming up against those numbers. So we saw over a decades worth of crime reduction," Geron said. "One murder obviously is more than you would want, but for a city of our size, we are looking at combating numbers that have been low for the last few years."

Geron added that we are currently experiencing another wave of crime this month.

"Unfortunately for November, we’re seeing an uptick in murders as well, but on the other side of that is our clearance rate, hovering close to 80%. Which I think is one of the highest in the nation," he said.

Clearance rate means how close a crime is to being solved and making an arrest.

Sasha Centeno says something has got to give. Her brother, basketball standout, Andre Emmett is was shot and killed in September as he ran away from two men who’d robbed him.

"It’s out of control. It’s really out of control. I don’t know what’s going on here in Dallas," said Centeno. "I don’t know what it’s going to take."

Dallas PD is also gearing up for increased patrol this holiday season with mounted units and patrols in parking lots. That increase has already begun in some areas.

"Each year, we put together a holiday shopping initiative in each of the patrol divisions. They look at retail centers and look at centers for crime hot spots, and devote additional resources in areas that see increased traffic throughout the holidays," Geron said.

We also asked about the partnership with DPS Troopers, who were deployed mainly to South Dallas over the summer to combat violent crime rates.

That operation ended in the last couple of months, but DPD says they continue to collaborate when needed to share intelligence and crime trends.

"As human beings, I think we are narrative processors as opposed to statistical processors. So, talk with each other and share the holiday season with love ones and look out for each other. Take care and keep your head on a swivel," Geron concluded.

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