Three years in, the Dallas Police Department's leaders say their plan to reduce violent crime is paying off.
New numbers show overall violence is down more than 19% compared to the three years before the plan started.
Still, after a South Oak Cliff High School student was shot near campus on Monday, some in the community argue there’s more work to be done to make Dallas safe.
Minutes before students were dismissed at South Oak Cliff High School, there was an emergency down the street.
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“I heard like four or five gunshots very loud,” said Roberto Arellano, who lives on Overton Avenue.
A Dallas ISD official told NBC 5 that a freshman student was at nearby South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park when a bullet grazed her. The child suffered a minor injury and was able to run back to campus for medical help. The school held up dismissal while police launched an investigation. Dallas ISD officials said the victim was not believed to be the target.
“It weighs very heavy on our hearts, most definitely,” said Carolyn King Arnold, Dallas City Council representative for District 4. “Because we keep seeing the headlines of young people whose lives are being taken at a very, very early age.”
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The shooting came three days after Kimball High School senior David Washington was shot and killed in south Dallas, with a 16-year-old now charged with his murder.
On Monday, Dallas police leaders updated the city's overall state of violent crime.
“All of your usual crime counts are down year to year,” said UTSA professor Dr. Michael Smith, an architect of the city’s violent crime reduction plan.
Dallas police leaders said violent crime in Dallas was down 19.2% from 2021 to 2024 compared to the three years before.
They said it was the impact of the police department’s violent crime reduction plan, an ongoing effort made up of three phases: Hotspot Policing, a grid system that assigns more officers to high-crime areas in the city; Place Network Investigations, which sends code enforcement and investigators to problem apartment complexes; and Focused Deterrence, which helps get resources to people deemed high risk for violent behavior.
“This crime plan would not work if the men and women of this department did not buy in,” said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. “They have completely bought in; they’re doing tremendous work.”
The numbers weren’t all positive: data showed the total number of homicides from 2021-24 was up 7% compared to the three years before the plan.
But murders in Dallas this year were down nearly 25% compared to 2023, and police said they hoped to expand this violent crime plan.
“Our hope is that this is going to be a longstanding, that this is going to be in the fiber of the Dallas Police Department where it’s about building stronger communities,” said Garcia.
On Monday, NBC 5 also learned for the first time how much that violent crime plan is costing the City of Dallas: Garcia said police have spent a total of $24 million since 2021 to implement and run the effort.
