DPS aiding Dallas PD to combat increase in violent crime

Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall says she's accepted Governor Greg Abbott's offer of help from DPS to combat the recent spike in violent crime.

Hall made the announcement at a town hall meeting Thursday afternoon about the ongoing problems. She also revealed that murders in the city were up 100 percent from last year. The city also had an increase in aggravated assault and robberies.

Gov. Abbott made the offer on Tuesday on the same day 13-year-old Malik Tyler was murdered. Dallas PD is currently short some 600 officers.

Hundreds of South Dallas residents came together at the MLK Rec Center Thursday night to express their frustration with a spike in violent crime in the city.

Dallas City Councilman Kevin Felder tried to soften some of the concerns by announcing that a judge issued a temporary restraining order against Jim's Car Wash in South Dallas. It’s the longtime problematic spot where a 56-year-old woman who was simply doing her job was killed by a group of people involved in a gunfight last Sunday. No arrests have been made.

“Jim's Car Wash must hire a minimum of two certified peace officers to patrol the property together for 24 hours per day seven days a week,” Felder said.

The order also limits the hours of daily operations from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

With more than 90 murders in Dallas in 2019 and 40 in the month of May alone, Chief Hall says DPD is launching its summer initiative that will target high crime areas in the city like Pleasant Grove, where 13-year-old Malik Tyler was killed by a stray bullet Tuesday night.

“Now more than ever, we are committed to working with the community in order to get this done,” Hall said. “We recognize that our enforcement efforts alone cannot do it.”

Chief Hall said she's accepted Gov. Abbott's offer to send state resources to assist DPD. The DPS Region 1 Director, based in Garland, met with Chief Hall to come up with a plan of attack.

“We were actually working on it in your office this morning. We’re going to continue working on it to see what right looks like,” said Jeoffry Williams with DPS.

The murder of three black transgender women was on the minds of some people in the audience. The police chief didn't address those concerns specifically, but Jazmine, who identifies as a transgender woman, remains optimistic.

“I’m tremendously happy seeing steps like this being taken,” Jazmine said. “Because before, there wasn't no steps being taken. So I’m very happy.”

Dallas Police Association President Mike Matta was at the meeting. He says the state's help is just “a band-aid on the problem.” He says only hiring additional officers will make a positive impact on crime in the long term.