Dallas County DA Rescinds Controversial Policy on Theft of Necessary Items

Newly re-elected Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot is ending a controversial policy enacted during his first term in office.

Creuzot said in a statement received Monday that his office's policy of not prosecuting thefts of necessary items like food, diapers, or baby formula was being rescinded.

The Dallas County DA said revisiting the policy was a promise he made during his recent campaign and that after taking another look at the policy and the impact it made that it had no impact on crime.

The policy was put in place to avoid prosecuting people who commit thefts out of desperation due to hunger and poverty, he said.

'Through data analysis and conversations with community organizations, retailers, and independent loss prevention specialists, I found the policy had zero effect on crime in the county - positive or negative,' Creuzot said. 'I have come to the understanding that this policy is more aspirational than realistic and rather than helping those in need, I have watched that population, and primarily people of color, be blamed for a rise in crime.'

“Well, there’s no statistical data because people didn’t call,” said Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata. “Your mom and pop store owners didn’t even bother to call 911 because they knew nothing was going to happen.”

Mata acknowledges entrepreneurs also did not call for help knowing the department is understaffed and it would likely take hours for officers to respond to low-priority theft calls.

Mata points out the district attorney’ office has always been able to quickly dismiss charges for those who stole out of hunger or poverty.

“It was a policy that didn’t need to be broadcasted…It sent a bad message to that criminal element that it almost gave them a pass to go ahead and commit a crime,” he said. “We are not there to arrest that individual that is stealing Similac for their children or diapers for their child. Matter of fact, more often than you can count, officers have bought those things for individuals that really need them.”

"I want the people of Dallas County and our partner police agencies to know that I have heard their concerns, and I will change when change is needed, so to that end, I am rescinding the policy," Creuzot said.

Cody Ellison who co-owns three shops in Bishop Arts, including Home on Bishop, welcomes the policy change.

“I’m glad it was being rescinded,” said Ellison. ‘I hate that it took him running for re-election to make it happen. Personally, I don’t think it should have ever been put in place in the first place because the people who suffered the most were small business owners.

Ellison says his businesses survived the Covid-19 pandemic and a policy in the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office he felt amounted to ‘a license to steal.’

He says since the 2019 policy announcement, they have noticed an uptick in reports of thefts in their shops and around their neighborhood. Ellison and his business partner increased the number of surveillance cameras in their stores.

“It’s not a victimless crime and the victim here were the small business owners who have our boots on the ground every day, who pay our rent, who have employees and the only people getting away with it were people stealing,” he said.

Creuzot said going forward the county's assistant district attorneys will use discretion to "prosecute those who deserve it" and will work to get "vulnerable populations the help they need."

Creuzot said the policy targeted "a very narrow class of offense and was instituted in an effort to decriminalize poverty." Instead, he said, the policy was "misrepresented and politicized" and created a sense of mistrust about his office and the crimes that they would prosecute.

Since the policy was put in place in 2019 the DA said his office has falsely been accused of not prosecuting thefts of TVs, motorcycles and catalytic converters, not accepting misdemeanor theft cases, and forcing businesses to close.

“If a person is found to have committed a crime in the city of Dallas, DPD will continue to make the arrests when appropriate. That is, and remains our stance, along with partnering with other agencies and departments to hold individuals accountable and protect and serve the people of this city," according to the Dallas Police Department.

The policy change is effective immediately.