If it seems like crime has gone up recently, that’s because some of it has — according to the city’s latest weekly crime report. The number of murders has jumped by 28 percent citywide compared to this time last year, and 40 percent were drug-or gang-related. Other violent offenses also rose by about 4 percent.
Other crime continues to decrease, overall. Sexual assault has gone down by 4 percent, and domestic violence by 2 percent.
Chief David Brown told the Dallas Morning News that, despite the mid-summer up-tick, our murder rate is equivalent to what it was in 1958 — when our population was half of what it is now. He said most of the violent crime isn’t random, and it’s often criminals against criminals.
To hone in on our council districts, there are slightly different changes, which you can see in the snapshots below.
In District 11, murders are down, but sexual assaults have jumped 88 percent — there were 8 more than this time last year. Business burglaries are up 30 percent.
Sexual assaults, business robberies and aggravated assaults also are rising in District 13. Actually, there’s quite a bit of red across the board. But, it’s worth pointing out that the district includes crime hot spots in the Webb Chapel area. Our neighborhoods are usually pretty quiet in regard to violent crime.
