Dallas, TX

Violent crime in Dallas is way down. So why do so many feel unsafe?

Published

1 year ago

January 16, 2025

Violent crime in Dallas is way down. So why do so many feel unsafe?

A curious thing happened last year as worried Dallas voters passed a charter amendment pushing for the hiring of more police officers. The city’s violent crime rate dropped.

And not by just a little. According to year-end data briefed before a Dallas City Council committee this week, overall violent crime in 2024 was down 8.26% from 2023. Murders decreased 26.2%.

That’s an astounding improvement from the year before, when killings were up nearly 15%.So why do so many people in Dallas still feel unsafe?

Dallas voters in November approved Proposition U requiring, in part, that the city spend half of its excess revenue maintaining a police force of at least 4,000 — an increase of around 900 officers. Dallas Hero, the nonprofit that backed the proposition, cited violent crime. Police and city officials understandably balked, pointing to fiscal constraints and challenges recruiting officers.

Public perceptions about crime can’t be brushed aside. The city must do a better job of making all residents feel safe, even those who are victims of low-level crimes. For example, scarce traffic enforcement leaves Dallasites across the city feeling vulnerable.

But our police department has done a remarkable job with violent crime, which has steadily dropped in Dallas in the last three years since police implemented their Violent Crime Reduction Plan. The data-driven approach targets high-crime areas called hot spots, identifying apartment complexes and other places repeatedly at the center of crime. The plan’s “focused deterrence” element identifies particular criminal suspects or potential criminals and offers them pathways to better lives.

This grid approach has paid off again in 2024, according to data top brass delivered to the City Council’s Public Safety Committee this week. In addition to murders, aggravated assaults decreased 7.7% and personal robberies were down 5%. The only significant increase in violent crime was in business robberies, which rose 4%.

Dallas police are particularly proud of their focused deterrence efforts, which include other agencies and nonprofits. Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot told us that members of his staff are “part of the team that knocks on doors and engages with these individuals and their families and pairs them with services that reduce the likelihood of them committing violent crimes.” That’s the kind of grassroots crime-fighting measure that makes a difference.

Also during the crime briefing, city staff members indicated that, based on their review of recent budget allocations, they are “confident that these investments align with the priorities of City of Dallas residents as expressed in the November election,” according to a memo.

Dallas Hero apparently disagrees; the next day it sent a letter to the city demanding compliance with Proposition U.

With those battle lines drawn, we’ll watch for a fight to play out at City Hall in coming weeks and months. Dallas must address the concerns of residents all over the city, not just in high-crime areas. The main challenge of our next police chief will be maintaining the decline in violent crime while improving police visibility across the city.

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

Source link

Dallas, TX

New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes

Published

12 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Press Room

New video of Lake Dallas explosion draws focus on order decades ago to remove old plastic pipes

Investigators say last month’s explosion, which critically injured a woman, was caused by a natural gas leak. Atmos Energy said its crews later detected an isolated leak on a short section of pipe buried in the area. The company said the pipe was installed by a predecessor utility company and was made of a material used only in 1970 and 1971.

Source link

Dallas, TX

Dallas Mavericks Owners Might Be Making Big Mistake in Search for New GM

Published

24 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Dallas Mavericks Owners Might Be Making Big Mistake in Search for New GM

The search for the next general manager or president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks has begun. They terminated Nico Harrison in November, which was about nine months too late, and gave any available candidates clear notice that they were open for business.

The plan was always to wait until after the season to start the search. While names popped up as the season reached an end, they didn’t begin turning over the staff until the Monday after the season ended. However, Dallas Mavericks fans are not going to like how the team is going about the search.

Mar 23, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont during the first half against the Golden State Warriors at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Patrick Dumont Leading Search for General Manager

NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that the Mavericks are not hiring a search firm in their hunt for a new lead executive. Instead, team governor Patrick Dumont is “acting as his own point person.”

This is an… interesting decision, to say the least. Dumont is not a basketball person whatsoever, and most organizations usually hire a search firm. The Chicago Bulls hired one as they look for their replacement for Arturas Karnisovas. Just because a firm is hired doesn’t mean a team will listen, though.

The Mavericks hired a firm in their last search for a GM. They let Donnie Nelson go in 2021 after a long tenure with the Mavs. Instead of listening to the firm, though, Mark Cuban ignored it to hire Nico Harrison, who had no previous NBA front office experience. Harrison had been an executive with Nike, which gave him connections with players like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, and plenty of others.

For a while, that seemed to be working out okay. While he still had some questionable transactions, such as trading for Christian Wood and letting Jalen Brunson walk in free agency, they were still able to make a run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Then, he blew it all up, trading away Luka Doncic for an older and injured Anthony Davis, and the team hasn’t been the same since.

It’s imperative that the Mavericks get this hire correct. The interim Co-GM setup with Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley has performed admirably, but the 2026 NBA Draft is important for the Mavs to get right. It’s their best chance to pair Cooper Flagg with another young star, as they don’t own their first-round pick again until 2031 after this.

Hiring the right GM could help bring in more draft capital by bringing in bad contracts or flipping veterans into picks.

Dumont was able to convince Rick Welts, a Hall of Famer, to come out of retirement to be the CEO and lead the charge for a new arena. Maybe Dumont pulls another rabbit out of his hat for the GM.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Source link

Dallas, TX

Petar Musa’s Brace Not Enough as FC Dallas Draws LA Galaxy 2-2

Published

1 day ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

Petar Musa’s Brace Not Enough as FC Dallas Draws LA Galaxy 2-2

For a moment, it looked like FC Dallas was on its way to another statement win at home tonight.

Petar Musa scored two first half goals, to extend his Golden Boot leading tally to nine goals. But after Dallas grabbed control, the Galaxy found a way back before halftime with goals from Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil.

The second half brought more chances and more frustration for Dallas, which finished the night with 13 shots to LA’s nine. In the end, the point stretched Dallas’ unbeaten run to five games, though just like last week, it felt like another match where Dallas left points on the table.

Key Moments

7’ – GOAL! After a poor pass back by a LA defender, Petar Musa was free to go one-on-one with the LA goalkeeper. After a touch to get ahead of a defender, Musa slotted home his eighth goal of the season from outside the penalty box.

21’ – Offside! Joaquin Valiente sent a floating ball over the Galaxy defense, where Musa was able to get behind the defense and make an easy play for what appeared to be his second goal of the night. The play was called offside despite a fairly lengthy review period.

38’ – GOAL! This one counts! Musa gets his second of the night off a great ball from Chris Cappis. Logan Farrington picked off the ball in the midfield. He then played Cappis wide to the left of the penalty area. Cappis immediately played a ball back across the goal for Musa to slide in and finish for his ninth of the season.

43’ – Goal LA. Lucas Sanabria got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He took a couple of touches to get outside the penalty box before firing a shot that beat Michael Collodi at the near post.

45+4’ – Goal LA. Gabriel Pec got the ball near the top of the penalty area. He pulled the ball back a bit, which caught a pair of Dallas defenders. This allowed Joseph Painstil to get free behind the Dallas defense as Pec played him through inside the penalty area. Pec immediately smashed home a shot above Collodi to tie the game.

75’ – Another offside goal. This time on a corner kick for Dallas, after a scrum in the penalty box, Kaick hammered home what looked to be the go-ahead goal. But after a few seconds the flag was raised due to a deflection on Osaze Urhoghide, who was in an offside position.

Instant Reaction

Yeah, this is another disappointing result for this team. In a real way, it felt like the first half against Houston from last month. Dallas grabbed the lead, looked in control, but some defensive miscues opened the game up for the visitors to climb back.

With a double-game week coming up, this will certainly be another game where Dallas will wonder ‘what if’ more than anything else…especially when you factor in the two goals called off for offside.

About the Subs

Eric Quill went to his bench for the first time in the 66th minute, as he brought on Santiago Moreno for Logan Farrington. Quill went to his bench again 81st minute with Ran Binyamin and Nolan Norris coming on for Sebastien Ibeagha and Deedson. The final sub came during stoppage time with Herman Johansson and Joaquin Valiente coming off for Sam Sarver and rookie Nick Simmonds, who made his MLS debut.

Man of the Match

No question about it tonight, it has to be Musa.

Where does this fit into the season

As of this writing, the draw puts Dallas into a three-way tie for 5th place with Real Salt Lake and Seattle. Both are in action right now and look firmly in control of their games. I’d expect Dallas to be in 7th place by the end of the night.