Oak Cliff neighbors gathered Tuesday with City of Dallas and Dallas Police Department officials for a state of the neighborhood meeting.
If you missed it, read on for some highlights below. For a fuller recap, visit the D1 website and sign up for the newsletter from council member Chad West, who promises his office will keep us updated on all things discussed.
The bulk of allotted time went to Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia who discussed the reduction in violent crime and the need to continue to staff the police force.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia
We had a very violent 2020, he said, but crime fighting has improved since then. He commended the men and women of the force.
“What they’re doing here is remarkable. I’ve been a police chief now for two years. I was in California five years before coming here and this department is unbelievable.”
He says the police officers he knows take their work personally. They sincerely want to leave the job every day with a win, he says.
“A coach is only as good as his or her team,” he said of his role. “We have an amazing team.”
He says that using the crime plan that pinpoints areas around the city that are susceptible to the most crime, the department is putting its resources where violent crime exists.
“And we’ve shown it to work,” he says. “We absolutely can reduce violent crime. If anyone thinks that more police does not equate to less crime, I have data from criminologists to tell you that that’s not true.”
As we continue crime reduction, he says, Dallas had the safest third quarter — June, July, August and September, “which are the warmest months where you don’t see crime go down in any major city in America,” he said. “Most chiefs just hope that crime somewhat remain steady.”
In every statistical category of violent crime and into October, has been the safest we have had in the last five years.
He went on to assure the assembly that every neighborhood that experiences crime — the highest crime neighborhoods, neighborhoods of color and non English speaking neighborhoods — asks for more police presence. He says this is true for Dallas and Califionia alike. No matter the narratives you sometimes hear, people want the presence of good officers in their neighborhoods, he said. They never want less police presence.
He stressed that building strong communities is the remedy for crime. He compared the police to aspirin, it treats the symptoms, is a response to crime, but the key to lowering crime is strong communities, people who watch out for their neighbors and report crime, for example.
“We absolutely need to grow [as a police force]; we’ll continue to grow with more police officers, honorable officers doing the right things at the right times and impacting the right areas.”
The department will continue its aggressive effort to hire 200 more officers, he said.
Tino Jalomo with the Arts and Culture Department noted among other highlights that there will be a meeting November 29 6-7 p.m. to discuss a skate park in Oak Cliff. The Advocate will post a notice once the location is announced, and we will continue to follow that development.
Representatives from sanitation pointed to changes in trash pickup days. Search by your address here to see if your collection day has changed.
The animal services department introduced the staffer overseeing the coyote management program, Jacqueline Sutherland. She is going to be featured in the Advocate soon. She has a very interesting job. Plans for an interview have been set in motion.
West suggests signing up for that newsletter to keep up with the finer details, but he touched on the City’s approved $4.5 billion budget. As the Advocate reported when the budget was proposed, while property taxes have increased due to high valuations from the Dallas Central Appraisal District, the budget cut the property tax rate by 2.75 cents, from 77.33 cents per $100 valuation, to 74.58 cents.
He said, “We fully funded Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire and Rescue, with the police department specifically getting $23.5 million more than they did last year.”
He added that $144 million in street repairs budget, including public works and transportation, is being put to good use, though that’s not near enough, he says.
Finally, West delivered a special recognition to former Advocate Oak Cliff editor Rachel Stone, for her painstaking coverage of our nook of the city. She’s asked that we move on and stop talking about her, so that is all.
