In a 26-page report Thursday, Dallas Police Chief U. Reneé Hall released the department’s plan to reduce violent crime after 2019 ended with more than 200 murders — a number not seen since 2007.

Reaction to the highly anticipated plan was a mixed bag, with some feeling that its goals were not ambitious enough.

Mayor Eric Johnson issued a tepid response, saying in a statement that the plan was “a start” but he had more questions and concerns. Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata said the plan was a lot of “content” but “very little clarity,” while others said the chief’s plan was comprehensive with attainable goals.

The crime reduction goals Hall has set for the department in 2020 include a 10% reduction in murders and aggravated assaults in the Southeast, Southwest and South Central patrol divisions, which saw the most increase in aggravated assaults.

For robberies in the Northeast and Southwest divisions, she wants to see a 10% reduction. Overall, the chief wants to reduce overall violent crime by 5% across the city.

The plan for 2020 comes after a strongly worded letter in December from Johnson calling the increase in violent crime “patently unacceptable.” Johnson, in his letter, said he expected the department to work “more aggressively and transparently.”

In a statement Thursday after the plan’s release, Johnson said he was pleased with Hall’s ideas but said the goals ought to be more aggressive. He said he wants to see violent crime rates go down to historic lows from 2013 and 2014.

“I am glad to see that she has described this plan as a 'living' document, as I have some concerns that I hope to see addressed in the coming weeks,” Johnson said.

Public safety committee chairman Adam McGough said the plan needs to have a defined implementation strategy and must be evaluated.

“Our goals need to be much more ambitious, and there are areas where greater measures must be developed to define success of tactics being deployed,” he said in a statement Thursday.

In the first nine months of 2019, Dallas saw the highest percentage increase in its violent crime rate year over year among the largest 10 cities in the country, according to a report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association. But those rates still pale in comparison with record violent crime levels of the 1990s, with 1991 alone seeing 500 recorded homicides in Dallas.

Trying new tactics

The new crime-fighting efforts in the department focus on data-driven and intelligence policing, increasing clearance rates of violent crime and improving communication and coordination within the department and local agencies.

The department plans to create an intelligence-led police division this year by restructuring and centralizing its crime analysis unit, fusion center, criminal intelligence unit and real-time crime center. The real-time crime center will include 22 new positions, which will be civilian jobs, the plan said.

Some intelligence- and surveillance-gathering tactics have raised controversy in policing and questions about their effectiveness. The report did not go into detail how the department will produce regular reports of at-risk people and create a “more accurate picture of who is committing crime and where.”

The plan includes a 100-member violent crime response team, which will focus on high-priority offenders. The department also plans to deploy targeted patrols, which will focus on small 330-foot-by-330-foot grids that have the highest calls for service that correlate with high crime.

“By proactively deploying units to these smaller targeted areas, officers can reduce calls for service and respond more readily and rapidly,” the report said.

Alex Piquero, a University of Texas-Dallas criminology professor, called the plan a more proactive approach. Piquero also serves on the mayor’s safe communities task force, which aims to address crime by fighting poverty and other non-police activities.

The task force has finalized its recommendations and will brief the mayor next week, a spokesman said.

“I think it’s a big credit to the leadership of the city of Dallas that they are taking it seriously,” Piquero said.

Shift in resources

Mata said many of the strategies were resources already available in the department but got “all new names” in the plan.

The department previously had a crime response team within each patrol division, which focused on violent crime offenders. After Hall arrived in 2017, Mata said she restructured the department and reduced specialized units to send officers to patrol to lower rising response times.

Mata said rank-and-file members were not approached for input on the plan. He said a robust gang and narcotics unit help prevent crime. The plan outlined a commitment to add 10 to 15 detectives per year to investigative units.

“Proactive enforcement units in the department have to be rebuilt and not just for three months,” Mata said.

Terrance Hopkins, president of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas, said the plan was comprehensive and had strategies to positively impact violent crime in areas. Hopkins said that officers have attainable goals but that crime-fighting efforts are going to need community help, too.

“Community leaders, religious leaders, city council people and many others have to play a part in this to make Dallas a better place,” Hopkins said in a written statement Thursday.

Some of the strategies lean heavily on recommendations already made public from a 400-page study done by consulting firm KPMG on the police department, which found resources needed to be managed better.

The Dallas City Council voted in November 2018 to pay for the study, which cost more than $500,000 to complete. When council members voted for the study, the department was struggling with response times for priority calls.

Council members will hear more about the chief’s plan at its next public safety committee meeting at City Hall, which is scheduled for Jan. 13.