Dallas sees drop in overall violent crime in 2023, despite more murders
DALLAS — In 2023, Dallas saw a drop in violent crime overall, even as the number of murders rose.
The city increased its focus on tackling the violence, after seeing jumps in 2019 and 2020.
"It's important for the community to know that their department is on the right track," said Police Chief Eddie Garcia, in an interview with CBS News Texas.
Chief Garcia says the most significant data point for him is the decreasing number of victims affected by violent crime.
"We had well over 1,500 less victims of violent crime this year than we had last year," he said.
In Garcia's three years as chief, violent crime has fallen nearly 24%, a trend that continued this past year with significant drops in the number of aggravated assaults and robberies.
"Gun offenses with regards to incidents also went down over 20%. So you look at that…you look that trajectory, that direction, it's something to build upon," said Garcia.
The one big exception to the positive news has been the number of murders, which increased to 246 last year from 214 the year before.
"The way you reduce murder is to reduce the incidences of aggravated assault to cause murder," the chief told the city's public safety committee in a meeting last month.
So why aren't murders falling while aggravated assaults have been? There are a lot of factors, the chief says, to consider.
"When you delve down into those numbers, 70% of our murder victims were either involved in criminal activity or other high risk behavior," he said.
Garcia says most victims also knew their attackers and almost two-thirds were killed in apartment complexes or homes, places out of public view.
Those are all factors that make murders harder to prevent.
"We need to get the message out…to let individuals involved in a life of crime that is not the way to go," said Garcia.
With that in mind, the department this year launched a focused deterrence program, connecting repeat offenders with programs aimed to help them with job training, mental health, and housing, tackling the roots of crime.
The full interview with Chief Garcia is available to watch below:
