Seeking ways to reduce crime and improve response time with the same size police force in 2023, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia is considering redrawing the seven patrol district lines to reposition officers.
“Looking at the city, looking at the dynamics, as the city changes, population changes, population shifts, calls for service shift, staffing numbers shift, and we need to shift along with it and so we need to look at that,” Garcia said.
The chief also wants to expand the force to improve crime fighting and response time but recruiting has still fallen short of the number of officers leaving the force each of the past two years. The Dallas Police Department is 600 officers smaller than it was in Oct. 2011.
Dallas posted lower violent crime numbers in 2022 but response time to calls increased.
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Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata served for many years as a patrol Sergeant in the Northeast Patrol division.
Tuesday Mata said he supports the idea of new district borders.
“We've got to attack this in different ways because we aren't going to increase our numbers overnight. 17:52
The Northeast substation is far from parts of that busy division.
It included new apartments with many residents along the Central Expressway, older tight-packed apartments around Skillman and Audelia near I-635, apartments along Loop 12 Buckner Boulevard near I-30 and one of the city’s highest crime neighborhoods, Five Points.
That community near Park Lane east of North Park Center has older apartments with people from many nations who speak many different languages. They may not trust the police but also may carry cash, which makes them likely victims of crime.
Mata said responding promptly to calls across all that territory is very challenging.
“If we redistrict to where the area they have to cover is much smaller, then the response time is going to decrease because your driving time decreases,” Mata said.
It’s happened before with the creation of the South Central Dallas Patrol Division.
Tuesday a Dallas Police promotion ceremony installed new supervisors who will be responsible for managing the force in 2023.
Dallas City Council Members at the ceremony praised the success in reducing violent crime in 2022.
“I know we'll continue to see progress because the Dallas Crime Plan is working, we are a national leader in this area,” Council Member Gay Donnell Willis said. “It’s a data-driven police department so the data that’s collected to make decisions, tough decisions, is working.”
Council Member Carolyn King Arnold said redistricting could be a worthwhile step.
“There are some communities that require more and I think this gives us a chance to use data for much more in a targeted manner,” Arnold said. “Long term we have to do a better job. We are making strides but we have to a better job and more targeted and laser-focused.”
Mata said redistricting could also boost officer retention by improving the working conditions for officers.
“I think it’s appropriate. I think it needs to happen,” Mata said.
Chief Garcia said he wants to improve response time to calls for service but wants officers to be safe in doing so.
