City News

Dallas authorities say they'll crack down on downtown street racing stat

Street racing incident on Live Oak Street in April, 2020.

Street racing has been a growing epidemic across Dallas, especially during COVID-19, most recently hitting downtown's Central Business District. Now authorities say they're going to crack down, starting ASAP.

According to a city of Dallas release, the Dallas Police Department (DPD) is collaborating with downtown Dallas' business partners to curtail street racing, beginning with an enforcement of the juvenile curfew and an accompanying increase in manpower.

They're also going to be shutting down lanes at midnight, so if you're driving through downtown or Deep Ellum, something to keep in mind.

Enforcement of the juvenile curfew ordinance will begin on Friday September 4 and will continue for the next three weeks, in these inner-city areas:

Deep Ellum
West End
Farmers Market
Uptown Dallas
Victory Park
Central Business District

These are all areas with very busy Facebook pages logging lots of complaints.

The ordinance applies to juveniles under the age of 17 who are in a public place from 12:01 am-6 am Friday and Saturday, and from 11 pm-6 am on Sunday.

Juveniles found in violation will be detained by officers until properly identified, then either released to a guardian or parent or transported to the Letot Center, a facility for runaway youth at 10505 Denton Dr.

Public Works and Transportation are coordinating street closures and traffic calming devices in speeding hot spots downtown. Street racers and spectators are subject to a citation, fine, and/or jail.

This is not the first time that authorities have vowed to get tough on street racing. Back in April, following a series of street racing incidents in Dallas that resulted in one death, the DPD said they would start arresting spectators as well as participants.

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates pilfer nearly $2B worth of Texas packages, study shows

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

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’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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