No surprise here: Early results from the annual Dallas community survey showed that almost two-thirds of residents view homelessness as a major problem. Forty-five percent placed crime in that same category.
The good news is: Those percentages have decreased since 2023. That year, three-quarters of respondents viewed homelessness as a major problem and 61% felt that way about crime.
And about three-quarters of respondents this year felt safe in retail areas, parks and their neighborhoods during the day.
The bad news is, as noted above, almost half of survey takers view crime as a major problem. Public safety data released this month helps explain those feelings. It showed that year-over-year average police response times have increased, although response times in May were faster than the same month last year.
Opinion
Which numbers matter more? The point-in-time or the trend? Is it good or bad that 44% of respondents said police services should be a top priority? Is it acceptable that 77% of residents felt safe in their neighborhoods during the day — or should the figure be 90%?
The public’s feelings about crime often differ from what data show, said James Burch, president of the National Policing Institute, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization.
“It’s not limited to Dallas … and it’s not new,” he said. National opinion surveys show that the perception of crime is stable but “when you look at national data, what you see is declines in pretty much every category of violent crime and property crime.”
Part of the problem, Burch said, is the nature of news. Crime is a story, while no crime isn’t. The more bizarre or horrific the crime, the more attention it receives. Social media exacerbates the situation because anyone can post an outrageous rumor that will spread faster than the facts.
However, residents’ perceptions are shaped not only by crimes that make headlines. Homeless encampments and reckless driving can make people feel unsafe and contribute to a sense of disorder. Being asked to file a report online for a low-level offense instead of talking to an officer can add to people’s frustration.
Police visibility can influence both a sense of safety and the reality of it. Respondents to the Dallas survey considered “police visibility” in neighborhoods to be among the most important public safety services but gave it their lowest satisfaction rating, 27%.
“Police presence does make a difference,” Burch said. “Just having police officers visible in the community for a few minutes every couple of hours has a deterrent effect.”
During a recent meeting with the editorial board, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said the city plans to boost the perception of public safety by deploying technology more effectively and bringing back some retired officers through contracts.
We see the survey results as good news. The city is hiring more officers and improving their pay. Dallas needs urgently to build the new police academy, fix the police and fire pension fund, and keep analyzing data to deploy officers effectively. But trends are moving in the right direction.
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