Dallas police crime data back online after ransomware attack in May

Dallas Police crime numbers are back online for the first time since a ransomware attack crippled city computers in May. The numbers show homicide is up 10% so far this year with 150 reported as of Wednesday morning.

But that’s less than the 20% homicide was up in May. And overall, Dallas's violent crime keeps falling according to the new report.

But some families still face grief.

People who loved her are mourning the July 20 death of 22-year-old Lusero Guzman.

One of her closest friends, Marisol, who did not want her last name used, said she was on the phone with Lusero during one of many fights with Lusero’s boyfriend, who was also the father of her children.

“And the next call I received, it was her phone but his voice saying I shot her. And she’s dead. And I was in shock,” Marisol said.

Police charged 29-year-old Eric Thomas with the murder.

“It’s just hard, hard to lose someone like that, especially so young, and her kids so young,” Marisol said.

The most recent Dallas homicide was around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night on East Illinois Avenue.

A man with a gunshot wound was taken to a hospital where he died.  The victim’s name was not available Wednesday as police looked for the shooter.

Dallas City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn serves on committees that deal with city information technology and with police.

“We still have a lot of shootings so even though those numbers are down, they need to go down further,” Mendelsohn said.

Police officials said reports that stacked up since the ransomware attack have not been entered to produce the updated data.

On May 16th, Chief Eddie Garcia warned that the lack of current data hurt crime fighting.

“To be honest with you it’s problematic. It’s severely impacting our ability to plan for what we’re trying to do. So, we’re going off historical data,” Garcia said.

Now the report shows overall violent crime is down 11% on top of reductions last year.  It suggests police had success without the constant flow of data.

Mendelsohn said citizens also appreciate the data.

“It’s always nice when you show a report where crime is way down so I think we’re all happy to see those reports,” she said.

Dallas Police Spokesperson Kristin Lowman said the department's goal of reducing the number of violent crime victims is being achieved.

“Not only are we reducing the number of violent incidents that are happening in our city, it’s happening in the summer when violent crime is normally trending up, upward,” Lowman said.

Dallas Police work with outside groups to reduce domestic violence, but Lusero Guzman’s sister Nicolasa said relatives did not speak up about her abuse.

“She never wanted to call the police because she never wanted to put the father of the kids in that situation,” the sister said. Nicolasa Guzman said relatives wish they had spoken and they encourage others to do so to avoid other tragedies.