DALLAS – With the murder rate up nearly 15% in Dallas, despite a drop in violent crime overall, Dallas City Council members worked to strategize how to tackle the perplexing problem.

Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia told city council members the majority of murders are done by people either committing other crimes or engaging in high-risk behavior. 

“It is somewhat astonishing to see the amount of victims involved in crime when the murder happens,” he said. “We need to double down for individuals who would be involved in crime to have a more positive pathway.”

The city had 246 murders last year. 175 of them, or 71%, were committed by someone involved in risky behavior or another crime.

The chief cited examples of risky behavior.

“Participating in dice, road rage, physical confrontations, illegal gambling, drug sales, gun sales,” Garcia said. “When you have individuals committing murder because they lost a dice game, that is ridiculous.”

Chief Garcia said the department plans to strategize with Dallas ISD to reach kids before it’s too late. The majority of murder victims were between 20-29 years old. 

“We are looking at ways to use a focused deterrence model with adults with students and parents,” he said.

Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn noted that 104 of the 246 murders were committed at an apartment complex. She said she has been working to educate apartment complex owners in her district. 

“DPD is not your security service,” she said. “They have a requirement to provide a safe environment. We need to get serious about that.