Dallas City Councilman Says District 3 Fights a Negative Perception, Not a High Crime Rate
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Dallas City Councilman Casey Thomas is wrapping up his fourth term at the horseshoe, and one thing he’d like to clear up before he leaves is that District 3 is a safe place to live.
Thomas, a Dallas native, represents District 3, which covers southwest Dallas.
Thomas has a lot to be proud of during his service over the past eight years: the adoption of the Hensley Field Master Plan, a comprehensive housing policy he helped steer to the finish line as chairman of the Housing and Homeless Solutions Committee, and a crime rate that’s not as bad as people think.
Dallas’ District 3 ranks ninth among the 14 council districts in the number of crimes reported in 2022.
South Dallas Perception
District 3, along with District 8, has the most “unserved” areas by Dallas Water Utilities. Some of the neighborhoods have suffered the effects of exclusionary zoning, racial segregation, and “redlining.”
South Dallas, Thomas said, has a reputation for being unsafe, but that’s just not accurate.
“District 3 goes against every single stereotype,” Thomas said during a Dallas City Council retreat last week. “We have one of the lowest crime rates. It’s the perception because it’s South Dallas.”
The numbers don’t look great, but as we’ve learned throughout this series on crime by council district, data can be spun positive or negative, depending on how it’s viewed, the date range, and the dataset it’s compared to.
In a year-to-date comparison, District 3 has more homicides and more crimes against persons than it did this time last year. Property crime is down about 8 percent. Robberies decreased a whopping 25 percent. Overall crime in the district is up slightly, less than 2 percent over this time last year.
Some studies show that because the media is reporting more crime, more often, and on multiple platforms, the public perception has become one of doom and gloom.
“The more people consume bad news in the world, the more they believe it is more dangerous than it really is,” said Nikki Usher of George Washington University in a National Public Radio report.
We know Dallas has had a lower violent crime rate in the past two years of Police Chief Eddie Garcia’s tenure. We also know that the police force is short a few hundred officers. Some residents say the numbers have decreased because the Dallas Police Department Crime Dashboard only reflects reported crimes, and many don’t bother calling in when they’ve been victimized.
When a Collin County woman’s catalytic converter was stolen — for the second time — from a Dallas shopping center, she told CandysDirt.com she didn’t call the police because “they never caught the guy the first time.”
Economic Development And Safe Neighborhoods
Thomas said his top priorities for District 3 include public safety, economic development — particularly recruiting quality retail businesses — and addressing the infrastructure deficit through American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Thomas said 85 percent of the housing in District 3 is composed of single-family homes.
“We have pockets of poverty,” he said. “Most of our district is middle class. Because it’s South Dallas, it’s assumed we have high crime. We don’t. That perception is what’s preventing us from reaching our goals. Hopefully, we can make progress. I’ve been fighting it for eight years, and my predecessor fought it before me.”
Rooftops bring retail, and Thomas has focused much of his tenure on the Dallas City Council in shepherding an equitable housing policy that addresses those needs.
Candidates vying for the District 3 council seat in the May 6 election include Zarin Gracey, Joe Tave, August Doyle, Denise Benavides, and John David Sims.
“So many areas of our district have been ignored,” Benavides wrote in an open letter on her campaign website. “Many residents, especially the Spanish-speaking population, have been underserved,”
Gracey, one of two D3 candidates to respond to a CandysDirt.com questionnaire, was endorsed by Thomas to take his seat in the upcoming election.
Gracey worked for the City of Dallas managing its bond program and has served as chairman of the Dallas Public Facilities Corp. board and as a District 3 city plan commissioner.
“Companies are relocating here because the Dallas economy remains strong,” Gracey said. “Unfortunately, we will continue to lose to other cities if we don’t get our permitting process together.”
Gracey lives in the master-planned Capella Park and said there are tremendous opportunities to create various housing options in the Mountain Creek area of District 3.
Additionally, the Hensley Field Master Plan, approved in December, calls for more than 5,700 new housing units in a massive mixed-use development.
“District 3 has the potential to be the greatest outdoor tourist attraction in the region with our parkland and nature reserves,” Gracey said.
Tave touts public safety and economic development on his campaign website.
“As North Texas grows, we have a greater opportunity to bring good jobs to Southern Dallas that will strengthen our local economy,” he said. “I will work with local law enforcement to ensure that families in Southern Dallas feel safe at work, in schools, and in their homes.”
Benavides also responded to the CandysDirt.com questionnaire, which focused primarily on housing matters. The candidate said D3 projects in the 2024 bond program should be geared toward public safety and quality of life.
“District 3 needs our bond projects done faster rather than later,” Benavides said. “We need better roads [and] better lighting in our streets. We need to invest in our neighborhoods. We need to renovate rec centers and invest in our parks. We need to make sure green spaces are protected.”
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth installment in our series on neighborhood crime by Dallas City Council district. Have you been the victim of a crime in a Dallas neighborhood or shopping center? Let us know about your experience at [email protected].
