Deep Ellum's violent crime spike has people on edge
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) -Dallas Police on Tuesday reported "violent crime" is up in the area.
Some are now worried the revitalized area might be sliding back into the crime-ridden area it once was a decade ago.
"Even just the perception that there might be more crime in Deep Ellum is bad for business," said Daniel Murry, who co-owns Armoury D.E.
Murry is concerned over the recent uptick in robberies and now the sexual assault that was reported last week.
DPD reported violent crime is up in the area 38 percent from August on 2015 to August of 2016. From July of this year to August, it rose 13 percent.
"If the city of Dallas or whoever is involved allows Deep Ellum to go down security wise like what happened in the early 2000's, businesses shut down and then we have to have another revitalization of Deep Ellum, which we don't want to have to do," said Murry.
A "buddy system" is now used by all workers at Armoury D.E. for when employees leave after a shift.
"This is a high priority. It's important to us," said Deputy Chief Lonzo Anderson with the Dallas Police Department.
Anderson addressed the concerns from the community during a crime watch gathering Tuesday night. He said officers have arrested 5 suspects they believe are involved in recent criminal activity, but there are still no arrests in the recent sexual assault.
"We must all work together because none of these entities can do it by themselves," said Anderson.
DPD said is it zoning in on the patterns of the criminals in Deep Ellum and officers are planning an undisclosed operation this weekend.
Murry is hoping for more arrests before it gets too late.
"You can almost look at Deep Ellum as the heart of the Dallas entertainment industry. So if you let that go down, it's really going to have a hurt on Dallas in general," said Murry.
Police said most of the crimes occur between the 2800 and 2600 block of Elm Street between the hours of 11 p.m. - 6 a.m.
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