Dallas, TX
Murders are down nationwide. So why are they up in Dallas?
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/HFOEZMUVIZHJZJPPAQLAEKHI4Y.jpg?ssl=1 "Murders are down nationwide. So why are they up in Dallas?")
Dallas just closed the books on the city’s bloodiest year since 2020.
According to police data, murders and non-negligent manslaughter climbed to 246 in 2023, up from 214 a year earlier and the highest since the violent death toll reached 256 in 2020.
That’s a rate of 18.86 murders per 100,000 people in Dallas last year, up from 16.41 murders per 100,000 in 2022. At least 204 of those deaths resulted from a firearm, up roughly 8.51% from 2022. And while violence is found in all parts of Dallas, a significant portion of murders were concentrated in a handful of locations in southern and northwest Dallas neighborhoods. So far, 2024 in Dallas began at roughly a murder-a-day pace.
What makes these statistics so disconcerting — including 34 homicides in March alone — is that other violent crimes, including aggravated assault, are down, evidence that an innovative violent crime plan is having some success. Yet, the increase in murders and non-negligent manslaughter runs counter to a national decline in murders last year. New York and Chicago posted double-digit percentage declines, and Detroit recorded the fewest murders since the 1960s. In nearby Fort Worth, police reported in mid-December that the city’s homicide rate had decreased by more than 20% from 2022.
So why is Dallas an outlier, and not in a good way? That’s a trend this community needs to understand and reverse.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia attributes the murder count to personal arguments and senseless conflicts that involve victims who were engaged in criminal activity or high-risk behavior. And that suggests the chief’s Violent Crime Reduction Strategic Plan, introduced in May of 2021, has to evolve to address this intractable threat to public safety.
Garcia also has said he remains committed to reducing aggravated assaults, which have fallen, telling a Public Safety Committee meeting recently that “the way to reduce murder is to reduce the incidents of aggravated assault that cause murder.” However, Dallas continues to face chronic staffing shortages that limit police presence and the ability to disrupt criminal networks that contribute to violent crime.
Comparing crime statistics can be tricky due how various jurisdictions report them. But while the Major Cities Chiefs Association reports double-digit declines in homicide across nearly 70 of America’s largest cities, Dallas isn’t one of those experiencing a decline.
Cities and the federal government generally attribute the 2023 drop in homicides and other violent crimes to expanded efforts to prevent crime, such as bipartisan gun-control legislation passed by Congress, collaborative efforts with community volunteers, police on foot or bike patrols, targeting of gun possession in high-crime areas, improved lighting and better traffic control.
Michael Smith, a criminologist at the University of Texas San Antonio who worked with Dallas police to develop a crime reduction plan, has offered several suggestions. One is greater cooperation from the criminal justice system to better assess the risk a suspect poses to determine whether a person stays in jail or gets out while awaiting trial, a change that might require help from the Texas Legislature to avoid running afoul of protections in the state constitution. This echoes Garcia’s concern that other parts of the criminal justice system haven’t done enough to keep offenders from being returned to the streets where they often reoffend.
The crime plan also should better target youth crime and firearms in order to keep dysfunctional and criminal behavior from escalating. Along those lines Garcia has urged city departments, clergy, schools, businesses, community groups and other interveners to be more active in supplementing police enforcement efforts. Garcia also wants to double down on such focused deterrence strategies to change the life paths of high-risk and at-risk offenders, including those returning from prison sentences into Dallas neighborhoods. This part of the plan involves jobs, education and assistance with social issues, all of which take time, money and focus to curb criminal culture and violent behavior.
The city also should consider ways to require multifamily property owners to do more to prevent their complexes from becoming magnets for violent crime. In speaking to the press this week, Garcia said Thursday that roughly two-thirds of murders in 2023 occurred either inside a residence or at an apartment complex, suggesting that changes might reduce homicides.
This much is certain. More than 200 murders a year in Dallas must not become the new normal.
We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com
The Texas Department of Public Safety, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Garland Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Abby Policastro and Marissa Aulbaugh prosecuted the case.
“This verdict should send a clear message to drug dealers that we will dismantle any effort to peddle deadly fentanyl in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “I want to thank our law enforcement partners for their dedicated collaboration in taking thousands of fentanyl pills off the streets of Dallas.”
If the Dallas Cowboys want to get over the hump and back into the playoffs in 2026, they’ve got to see a massive improvement in the defense.
Owner Jerry Jones was brutally honest with just how much the Cowboys were held back by their defense in 2025, and the numbers very clearly spell that out.
How does a Cowboys team that ranked top 10 in passing, rushing and points on offense still miss the playoffs?
Well, Dallas also ranked 30th in total yards allowed, 32nd in passing yards, 23rd against the run and 32nd in points against, that’s how. That putrid showing rightly cost Matt Eberflus his job, which set the stage for Dallas to hire Christian Parker.
It also set the stage for a total overhaul of the defense, with Dallas making many additions to that side of the ball, including at corner, where the Cowboys were bad on the boundary and in slot last season.
Fow now, we’re more focused on the boundary competition, as the Cowboys appear set to roll with Caleb Downs in the slot.
Cowboys’ CB competition is crucial for 2026
The Cowboys won’t have much hope for a playoff appearance if the cornerback play doesn’t improve. Of the 10 teams that landed in the bottom 10 in passing yards allowed last season, only two of them made the postseason.
Of course, the pass-rush played a part in that, and while Dallas has made multiple additions to that group this offseason, there really aren’t any guarantees with Rashan Gary, Malachi Lawrence or Donovan Ezeiruaku.
If that trio fails to improve a pass-rush that was tied for the seventh-fewest sacks in the NFL in 2025, the cornerbacks become even more crucial.
DaRon Bland and Shavon Revel did not play well in 2025, and while the former appears safe for now when it comes to a starting job on the outside, his leash could be short if he struggles again.
Revel, on the other hand, isn’t locked into a starting job on the boundary and is competing with Durant and Caelen Carson. It’s also worth keeping an eye on who finishes in second in that battle because that player could replace Bland if he struggles or gets hurt again.
There is hope Revel can bounce back now that he’s another year removed from the torn ACL he suffered in his final year in college and can enjoy a full offseason, but we’ll have to see it first before we can believe it.
“It’s very beneficial,” Revel said of having a normal offseason. “Just because I can clean up a lot of things, a lot of errors I didn’t see last year, or I did see last year, that I could clean up this year.”
“My knee is 100%, so now it’s time to focus on situational ball and I’ve got to see what I need to fix or get better at,” Revel added.
When training camp kicks off next month, we’re going to be locked into watching the battle at cornerback because it could very well make or break Dallas’ entire 2026 campaign.
Follow
The NFL offseason is moving along as the Dallas Cowboys recently wrapped up their mandatory minicamp. Their next big event takes place at the end of July when they meet in Oxnard for training camp.
Coming off a 7-9-1 campaign, the Cowboys have several areas they would like to improve, and while defense has been the focal point, there will be plenty to watch on offense as well with players fighting for their spot on the depth chart.
That means there will be no shortage of storylines to follow, including keeping an eye on these three players who enter camp with their stock trending in the wrong direction.
Jonathan Mingo, WR
It has been a roller coaster for Jonathan Mingo ever since being traded to Dallas ahead of the 2024 deadline. He made no impact during his first eight games, recording just five receptions. He seemed ready to rebound in 2025, however, as he took advantage of his first full offseason with the Cowboys.
Mingo was one of the stars of training camp and put himself in the WR3 conversation. A knee injury put an end to that run and he wound up playing in just six games and had one catch. Now, Mingo heads into camp with very little chance of making the 53-man roster.
Joe Milton III, QB
At this time last year, Joe Milton III was one of the hottest names in Frisco. The former New England Patriots quarterback was expected to give them a more explosive QB2 behind Dak Prescott after Cooper Rush left in free agency. LeSean McCoy went overboard by saying Dak Prescott’s job was in danger, but there was still a lot of understandable hype.
Now as he enters his second season with the franchise, Milton is going to be battling for the backup spot with Sam Howell, who was signed this offseason. Milton still has a rocket for an arm and unbelievable athleticism for a 6-foot-5, 246-pounder, but he could be in danger of losing his roster spot if he can’t find more consistency.
Malik Hooker, S
Dallas added three safeties this offseason, signing Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke in free agency and selecting Caleb Downs in the first round of the NFL draft. Thompson has yet to fully practice due to an injury but Downs has been turning heads and Locke has taken advantage of the extra snaps.
That’s not ideal for Malik Hooker, who has also been sidelined with an injury. Unlike Thompson, Hooker isn’t in the first year of his deal, so his missed time is more detrimental. He also doesn’t have experience with the coaching staff the way Locke does. That means he’s entering camp without much momentum at all, and could be in danger of losing his spot.
— Sign up for the Cowboys Daily Digest newsletter for more free coverage from Dallas Cowboys on SI —
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow
-
Lifestyle4 minutes agoNPR staffers share their favorite fiction reads of 2026 so far
-
Education12 minutes agoThe Itinerant Preacher Who Helped Secure the Separation of Church and State
-
Technology19 minutes agoHoto’s 25-bit electric screwdriver is 40 percent off during Prime Day
-
World22 minutes agoTrump gets major win against China in African rare earth minerals race
-
Politics27 minutes agoSocial media erupts over Mamdani’s silence after Brooklyn coffee shop bans Jewish congressman
-
Health34 minutes agoWant to age better? Researchers say 4-minute routine may help prevent dangerous falls
-
Sports37 minutes agoWyndham Clark pens emotional message after winning second US Open in hostile territory
-
Business49 minutes agoThe other anti-data center movement: California’s sky-high electricity prices
