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Dallas police say city's violent crime is down 19% due to data-driven reduction plan

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Dallas police say city's violent crime is down 19% due to data-driven reduction plan


Three years in, the Dallas Police Department’s leaders say their plan to reduce violent crime is paying off.

New numbers show overall violence is down more than 19% compared to the three years before the plan started.

Still, after a South Oak Cliff High School student was shot near campus on Monday, some in the community say there’s more work to be done to make Dallas safe.

Minutes before students were dismissed at South Oak Cliff High School, an emergency broke out down the street.

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“I heard like four or five gunshots very loud,” said Roberto Arellano, who lives on Overton Avenue.

A Dallas ISD official told NBC 5 that a freshman student was at nearby South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park when she was shot and ran back to campus to seek medical help.

The school held up dismissal while police launched an investigation.

Dallas ISD officials said the victim was not believed to be the target. Dallas police said the student was grazed by a bullet and would survive.

“It weighs very heavy on our hearts, most definitely,” said Carolyn King Arnold, Dallas City Council representative for District 4. “Because we keep seeing the headlines of young people whose lives are being taken at a very, very early age.”

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The shooting came three days after Kimball High School senior David Washington was shot and killed in south Dallas, with a 16-year-old now charged with his murder.

On Monday, Dallas police leaders gave an update on the city’s overall state of violent crime.

“All of your usual crime counts are down year to year,” said UTSA professor Dr. Michael Smith, an architect of the city’s violent crime reduction plan.

Dallas Police leaders said violent crime in Dallas was down 19.2% from 2021 to 2024 compared to the three years before.

They said it was the impact of the police department’s violent crime reduction plan, an ongoing effort made up of three phases: Hotspot Policing, a grid system that assigns more officers to high-crime areas in the city; Place Network Investigations, which sends code enforcement and investigators to problem apartment complexes; and Focused Deterrence, which helps get resources to people deemed high risk for violent behavior.

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“This crime plan would not work if the men and women of this department did not buy in,” said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. “They have completely bought in; they’re doing tremendous work.”

The numbers weren’t all positive: data showed the total number of homicides from 2021-24 was up 7% compared to the three years before the plan.

But murders in Dallas this year were down nearly 25% compared to 2023, and police said they hoped to expand this violent crime plan.

“Our hope is that this is going to be a longstanding, that this is going to be in the fiber of the Dallas Police Department where it’s about building stronger communities,” said Garcia.

On Monday, NBC 5 also learned for the first time how much that violent crime plan is costing the City of Dallas: Garcia said police have spent a total of $24 million since 2021 to implement and run the effort.

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Dallas, TX

2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced

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2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced


Behold the 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule.

We knew coming into Thursday that the Cowboys would be on the road to take on the New York Giants in the season opener on Sunday Night Football, that Dallas is “hosting” the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3, and that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in town for Thanksgiving Day. Now we know it all.

Among the first things that jump to mind is that bye week is late. Dallas isn’t on bye until Week 14, the Sunday of that week is December 13th for full perspective.

The Cowboys also only play twice in their own building, thanks to the Brazil game, before November. Sometimes those weird quirks show up in schedules and this is certainly one of them.

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It is interesting to see that the NFL gave Dallas the longest amount of rest possible after their Thanksgiving tilt. It hasn’t been uncommon for the league to have the Cowboys play on consecutive Thursdays, but perhaps that is a thing of the past.



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Dallas Approves $180,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs

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Dallas Approves 0,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs


A portion of South Lamar Street was officially renamed Botham Jean Boulevard in 2021.

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On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved funding that will replace highway exit signs and road signs marking Lamar Street with new signage honoring Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was fatally shot in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer in 2018. 

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The $180,500 in funding for 13 signs to be installed by the Texas Department of Transportation is the final step in the street renaming that was unanimously approved by the council in 2021. The new signs will be placed at exits along Interstate 45, State Highway 310 and U.S. Highway 175. 

Already, Botham Jean Boulevard signs run along the road in the Cedars, where Jean lived before he was killed. 

“This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” his mother, Allison Jean, told the council in 2021.  

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Jean was shot by Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, after she entered his apartment believing it was her own. A Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay the Jean family nearly $100 million in a civil trial, which accused her of using excessive force. 

The Jean family is seeking restitution from the city of Dallas because they argue that Dallas, as Guyger’s former employer, had a duty to defend Guyger and pay out claims brought against her. The Jean family filed suit against the city in April of this year.

On Wednesday, city council member Adam Bazaldua stated that the continued remembrance of Jean’s name is a reminder that “no one is above the law.” 

“This has never simply been about changing street signs; it has always been about commemorating a life that was taken too soon,” said Bazaldua. “When driving down Botham Jean Boulevard, we are reminded of the thousands of lives lost across the country each year to senseless gun violence.” 

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Bazaldua said that once city leaders were made aware that some signs from the initial 2021 street name change had not materialized, the horseshoe took steps to correct the oversight “somewhat promptly.” But he acknowledged that Wednesday’s funding came on the heels of community advocacy urging the project’s completion. 

Community leader Yafeuh Balogun said his organization, Community Movement Builders, began asking the city for the updated signs in September 2025. Addressing the council ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Balogun encouraged the horseshoe to vote in favor of the funds because it “would make no sense” to not follow through with the street renaming approved years ago. 

 “I think this is very powerful simply because driving here today, I still saw the Lamar Street Signs,” Balogun said. “I remember how powerful it was back in 2021 when the city council voted to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean. I’d like to keep that legacy going.” 



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World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released

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World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released


We’re less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and North Texans volunteering in the event have received their uniforms. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more on that and the new hospitality tickets released today.



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