'Guardian Angels' Help Business Owners Patrol Deep Ellum
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A recent surge in violent crime has Dallas Police pledging to make Deep Ellum a priority. Now local business owners and residents are looking for ways they can do their part to make sure the popular neighborhood does not become a long-term magnet for crime.
A late Saturday night still a high point of activity, and that's why after a series of robberies and a sexual assault you're likely to see an extra police presence for the next several hours.
But business owners know the police can't be everywhere at all times, so they're looking for ways to fill in the gaps themselves.
For the last two years Stonedeck Pizza Pub owner Catherine Jacobus has seen a lot of progress in Deep Ellum, and that's why she doesn't want a recent spike in violent crime to turn away new customers at a time when business is growing.
"What we're hoping to do is really learn, learn what we can do to identify behavior, identify individuals, if there's a way to do that, that may not have everbody's best interest in mind," Jacobus said.
Jacobus is one of several business owners who plan to start regular patrols with members of the Guardian Angels, which is a volunteer group that specializes in crime prevention.
"Basically deter crime by presence, letting people know that we're out there, and we're going to report you if we have a problem," said Rafael Arredondo.
Arredondo has been with the Dallas chapter of the Guardian Angels for more than 30 years. His goal is to train those who live and work in Deep Ellum to protect themselves.
"The laws to make a citizen's arrest, how to observe, how to make an accurate or be an accurate witness. Today's technology leaves no flaw. If you take a picture or video, then you can do that. At minimum, be a good witness," Arredondo said.
Groups will walk the neighborhood looking for problem areas throughout the night.
"We definitely want to be able to send a message to anybody who is thinking that Deep Ellum has a lot of people wandering around and it's a place that victims exist, that's something that we would really like to be able to eliminate," Jacobus said.
After the first of those walks Saturday night, they'll also be looking for issues like poor lighting and other problems they hope city leaders can help them address.
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