District 11 sees crime reduction in 2023

Your Nextdoor app might seem like an endless stream of crime stories, but data from 2023 paints a different picture. In fact, District 11 experienced a decrease in almost every type of crime in 2023.

According to City Council District 11 Representative Jaynie Shultz, most crimes are occurring in two concentrated areas — Esperanza and Montfort.

“These are the highest poverty areas in the district,” Shultz says. “So, what we are doing is raising the quality of life in those areas and bringing economic value, improvements and overall safety.”

The Esperanza District is the area from Interstate Highway 635 to Spring Valley Road and U.S. Route 75 to Coit Road.

Shultz sees having a council liaison who is fluent in Spanish to communicate with the largely Spanish-speaking district and the Building Blocks Crime Watch program as supplements to crime reduction in the area.

“We have a whole task force that’s working on this, on everything from public safety to community engagement, to early childhood care, to working with the school, to working on traffic safety,” Shultz says. “It took us a while to get the plan going, but we have that and [the city is] in the process right now of hiring a project manager to really launch this multi-pronged approach to changing the quality of life over there and working very closely with the residents who live there to make their lives better.”

Throughout the district, violent crimes are down 14.34%, with only murder and fondling experiencing any increases since last year. Of the 11 murders in District 11 this year at time of publication, six have resulted in arrests and three remain open cases, Shultz says.

Of non-violent crimes, almost all categories experienced improvement. However, there was a 68.29% increase in shoplifting, which Shultz attributes to shopping centers like the Galleria Mall.

“[The Galleria] had new owners over the last year and we’re working very close with them to improve public safety and try to get more patrols over there, both private and public,” Shultz says. “I do believe that if we had a public improvement district over there, we could really ramp up security.”

Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (UUMV) also increased significantly this year (+42.53%, or nearly 300 more incidents than last year). UUMV occurs when a vehicle is used without permission of the owner or a person who has been granted permission to operate a vehicle for any period of time for any reason refuses to return it with the intent of permanently depriving the owner of the vehicle.

The Dallas Police Department says that the most common instances of UUMV are joyriding, often by teenagers; someone re-selling a vehicle for parts or using a vehicle to commit another crime.

Taking a multi-departmental approach is key to lowering crime and raising the quality of life in the area, Shultz says. The Office of Integrated Public Safety Solutions, for example, works in areas like the Esperanza District to reduce crime by working with Code Compliance, the Department of Transportation, Dallas PD and the City Attorney’s Office to remedy environmental issues such as vacant lots, abandoned properties, substandard structures and insufficient lighting, according to the office.

“We have a long way to go in Esperanza, frankly, and we have a ways to go in Montfort, but we’re working hard and the neighbors can be really pleased with the crime reduction in their neighborhoods,” Shultz says.

District 13 might not have experienced as much of a decrease as District 11, but let’s take a look at what was improved – and what wasn’t – this year.

Improvements:

Simple assault has gone down 17.82% from last year
(606 to 498)

Burglary at a residence went down 14.36% (181 to 155)

Thefts of motor vehicle parts or accessories went down 39.92% (506 to 304)

Robbery from an individual went down 23.96% (96 to 73)

Drug narcotic violations went down 27.13% (258 to 188)

Weapon law violations went down 35.19% (54 to 35)

Increases in Crime:

Aggravated assault – Family Violence has gone up 18.75% (48 to 57)

All other larceny went up 24.14% (377 to 468)

Purse snatching and pick-pocketing went up from 1 to 4 and 1 to 5 instances, respectively

Shoplifting went up 68.29% (369 to 621)