Dallas City Councilwoman Carolyn King Arnold said her district is in a “state of emergency” due to violent crime that has hit district four, located in south-central Dallas, especially hard.
“Every night for some neighborhoods they hear gunshots and often those gunshots are attributed to a murder,” Arnold said.
On Wednesday Councilwoman Arnold held a public safety meeting regarding her district, updating faith leaders and neighborhood watch groups about the situation. In 2019, she says district four recorded more than 40-murders and was second in violent crime.
During her remarks, in an ironic twist, Dallas Police say a 40-year-old woman was murdered near Tama Park in district four.
“This is not just a police issue, this is a city issue, this is our issue a community issue,” said Phil Foster with the Adelaide Neighborhood Association, who was among those that attended.
Councilwoman Arnold said she hopes continued cooperation with the Dallas Police Department and community groups can help reduce crime. Next week, DPD Chief Renee Hall is expected to discuss her 26-page crime reduction plan with the city council.
The plan, has drawn mixed reviews from the city council, with Mayor Eric Johnson and some councilmembers saying the goals, which include a city wide violent crime reduction of five-percent, aren’t aggressive enough.
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“I believe in spite of what is on that paper there is a commitment to serve this community, this group here is going to be one of those front running groups that demands attention,” Councilwoman Arnold said, when asked about the crime reduction plan. o
