City News Roundup

Dallas mayor’s new task force intends to use data to fight crime

Mayor Eric Johnson announced The Mayor's Task Force on Safe Communities on August 19.

Courtesy photo

Mayor Eric Johnson is creating a task force to fight increasing crime in Dallas, which will rely heavily on "data-driven solutions."

At a press conference on August 19, Johnson announced The Mayor's Task Force on Safe Communities, which he said will work to reduce and prevent violent crime without reliance on law enforcement.

"I believe in the Dallas Police Department, and I believe that the Dallas Police Department's focus on guns, gangs, and drugs is both smart and necessary to help reduce violent crime in our city," Johnson said. "But we can’t ask or expect law enforcement to do it all."

"To paraphrase one of our former police chiefs, we already ask cops to do too much," he said. "Police have to be social workers. They have to deal with mental health and drug addiction and cycles of abuse. And we've asked law enforcement to do all of these things in an environment where illegal guns are far too easy for criminals to obtain."

Johnson said he had not discussed the task force with police chief Renee Hall, who has been on medical leave since July, nor with other city council members.

But he has appointed three co-chairs:

Pastor Michael Bowie, senior pastor at St. Luke Community United Methodist Church
Rene Martinez, educator and community activist
Alan Cohen, president and CEO of the Child Poverty Action Lab

St. Luke's is located on I-30 just east of Grand Avenue, and has had Johnson as a longtime supporter; he earned the church a commemoration in 2013 by the Texas House of Representatives.

Martinez is a one-time chairman of the Dallas chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) who also worked for DISD.

Cohen, who also worked for DISD, is head of Child Poverty Action Lab, a nonprofit unveiled by Mayor Mike Rawlings in 2018 with the lofty goal of reducing poverty in the city by half in the next 20 years.

In a 2018 story, WFAA said that CPAL would use data to ease the poverty problem, stating, "the hope is that armed with data, they’ll be able to work together to produce small solutions that as a whole will have a major effect."

At the press conference, Johnson said that the city will never have enough police officers to prevent all violent crime. "What Dallas hasn't focused on enough is data and best practices," he said.

Data. Buzzword at Dallas City Hall right now.

Other members of the task force will be announced. They're expected to develop recommendations and report back to the mayor before the end of the year.

UPDATE 8-29-2019: The 13 remaining members of the task force are as follows: Marc Andres, Derrick Battie, Stephanie Elizalde, Gary Griffith, Mita Havlick, Changa Higgins, Chad Houser, Amanda Johnson, Edna Pemberton, Alex Piquero, Debbie Solis, Maria Valenzuela, and Marian Williams.

politics

DART developments

DART launches 90-day security initiative at key Dallas rail stations

DART

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Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) is stepping up security and fare enforcement at several light rail stations as part of a new 90-day initiative launching Monday, November 16. Called Operation Access, the program will bring a more visible uniformed presence to key stations across the network, the agency says.

Riders will see DART police officers, fare enforcement officers, and transit security officers at designated locations, according to a press release.

As part of the initiative, all riders boarding at Pearl/Arts District Station and West End Station will pass through barriers and undergo mandatory fare validation before boarding. Those stations may experience brief delays during peak travel periods, although DART expects any additional wait times to be minimal, they say.

In addition to the two downtown stations, uniformed enforcement teams will be stationed at Bachman, Forest Lane, LBJ/Skillman, MLK Jr., and 8th & Corinth stations.

According to DART, the seven stations serve as important entry and exit points for passengers traveling to and from downtown. Placing officers and security personnel at those locations will create a more consistent presence along key rail corridors while supporting fare compliance and the agency's code of conduct.

The initiative is intended to improve safety and fare compliance while helping DART better understand how passengers move through the system as it evaluates the possibility of expanding fare-gated access across the light rail network.

"At its core, Operation Access is about creating the transit experience our riders deserve," says DART Chief of Police Charles Cato in the release. "When customers see a consistent security presence, know that fares are being checked, and feel confident that everyone is following the same rules, it creates a safer and more comfortable environment for everyone."

Cato says the first phase will allow DART to provide those benefits immediately while gathering information to help plan for the future.

DART President and CEO Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. also describes Operation Access as an important step in modernizing fare enforcement.

"Operation Access allows us to take meaningful action today while planning responsibly for tomorrow," Ford says. "We're making the system safer and improving fare compliance right now, and at the same time we're collecting critical data that will help shape the next generation of rail security and customer experience at DART."

dart downtown dallas operation access public transit transportation