Starting today, the Dallas Police Department plans a six-month crime-reduction plan in an upscale, crime-plagued section. Previous crackdowns on crime hot spots have lasted only 28 days, says the Dallas Morning News. The area is the Jefferson Boulevard business corridor and Bishop Arts District, which have been hit by rampant robberies, assaults, and car burglaries. Police will team up with a community prosecutor, code enforcement and other agencies.
“We’re thrilled,” said Beverly Mendoza of the local Oak Cliff Foundation. “We need increased police presence. There seems to be a lot of crimes of opportunity.” Speaking of the previous short-term crackdowns elsewhere, one police official said, We can go in and write 428 tickets and put 500 people in jail. But have we fixed the problem? How can we do something that will be sustainable?” Tammy Palomino, the area’s community prosecutor, said a six-month initiative “is at the heart of what the Police Department is moving back to, which is accountability and knowing your neighborhood.”
Link: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/010105dnmethotspot.9a776.html