Dallas police test new approach to improve response to auto thefts
DALLAS - The Dallas Police Department has announced a new plan for handing auto theft reports, with the number of cars stolen in Dallas this year expected to surpass 18,000.
It currently takes the department an average of more than 12 hours to respond to an auto theft report.
"I waited and waited. I called back again. I waited and waited, and called back again," recalls Linda Terrell, after her car disappeared.
In a recent interview with CBS News Texas' Ginger Allen, Chief Eddie Garcia said crimes against people will always have a higher priority than crimes against property, but the department does need to improve its response time to these cases.
"The most important thing for me is that initial call… the initial interaction that a victim has with a police officer to take a report," said Garcia. "We need to figure out a way for the vehicle to be in the system quicker."
Starting next Monday, the department will begin testing its new approach, using officers who've been placed on limited duty, due to an injury or other reason.
After calling 911, auto theft victims will be contacted by one of the officers to take their report through a video-conference system, like Zoom, through the exact platform has yet to be chosen.
"With this it's about 40 minutes for the report to be taken and entered into NCIC, which is the national crime information system, which is where we put in to note that a car is reported as stolen," said department spokesperson Kristin Lowman. "So, you're looking at instead of a 12, 13, 14 hour process to that can be down to even one to two hours."
A memo to city leaders this week detailing the plan was met with praise from council member Cara Mendelsohn, who chairs the city's public safety committee.
"This is a genius idea," she said during a committee meeting Monday. "I love the innovative way you're approaching this."
She drew attention to the estimated 33, 000 hours the approach is expected to save patrol officers.
"It's increasing response times, it's getting that information into our system quickly as cars are reported stolen, and it's freeing up officers to go to higher priority calls," said Lowman.
Getting auto theft reports processed more quickly should make it easier for officers to identify a stolen car they happen to cross paths with. One thing it likely won't do, though, is decrease the work load of detectives who go on to investigate these crimes. There are still just twelve of them assigned to handle this year's 18 thousand cases.