After Violent Crime Spree, DART Spends Millions On Security Improvents

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) system has much more to navigate than the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area map, currently. This fall, as more member cities discuss exiting their partnership with the agency, news of three unrelated shootings in a five-week span occurring on separate DART properties hit headlines. However, even as funding concerns grow, DART announced millions in new security enhancements directly following the crime spree, but disgruntled riders say it may still not be enough to recover the system’s reputation.

On Nov. 19, DART announced a new $16.8 million contract to upgrade and replace thousands of surveillance cameras, “increasing efficiency and collaboration between DART [Police Department] and operations.” DART says the new enhancements, the largest camera overhaul since 2010, will increase response times. 

“This upgraded camera system is part of a multi-step process to ensuring our trains, buses and facilities are as secure as possible for our employees and riders,” said Randall Bryant, the newest DART Board of Directors chair, in a press release. “We have a duty to maintain a secure system for North Texas, and it’s a primary priority of my tenure as Board Chair.” 

The overhaul is scheduled to begin in early 2026, with no announced completion date. However, online critics of DART believe that cameras are merely scratching the surface of possible safety enhancements. 

“Cameras won’t stop a bullet, knife, indecent exposure, or other crimes,” Brandon Comeaux wrote on DART’s Facebook post about the scheduled improvements. “They just provide video evidence that a crime happened. “… I stopped riding the train after taking it for a month because it was unsafe, in the time I rode, I saw a lot, and when the murders started, I decided it was time to drop DART.”

The first fatal shooting this fall was on Sept. 29 on a train near Market Center Station. A week later, on Oct. 5, a second fatal shooting occurred near the St. Paul Station. A third non-fatal shooting at Akard Station on Nov. 7 ended the string of gun violence. 

According to DART crime metrics, there have been between 2 and 4 homicides each year since 2022. But still, the spike in gun-related violent crime triggered a response from DART Police Chief Charles Cato, who told NBC 5 that he was stationing a uniformed officer or a fare enforcer on each train or station platform. 

According to DART’s data, crime rates have increased over the last four years. But most of that increase is related to drug charges, of which there were 150 in 2022. By 2025, drug offenses increased 601%, totaling 1,052 as of September. Between 2022 and 2025, the number of assault offenses increased by 27%, from 618 to 785. Between January and September of this year, there were 511 assault offenses. 

But DART officials maintain that violence, particularly homicides, remains isolated events. 

“We’re not immune to the ills of society today,” Chief Cato said to FOX4. “We’re violence and easy access to firearms, and the willingness to use them takes place in schools and churches and other public places, and so while we’re diligent and work very hard every day, bad things, tragic things do happen.” 

Safety Precautions

This isn’t the first time DART has had to form a reactionary plan to an increased string of violence on its services. In 2023, the organization contracted 100 armed security officers to support its 252-person enforcement department. 

However, critics argue that they still don’t see enough enforcement.

“I will never get on board a DART train ever again unless there is [a] major improvement,” Colton Miller wrote on DART’s Facebook post. “I just simply don’t feel safe…There needs to be a DART police officer in every car and at every train station and they need to actually enforce the rules.” 

With 65 rail stations and 163 light-rail vehicles, and not accounting for the bus fleet or on-demand rideshare services, it’s improbable to have an enforcement officer on each car with the current force size. 

Aside from overhauling the camera system, DART also runs an anonymous reporting system, called the DART Say Something App, that allows riders to report concerning behaviors and provide visual and written evidence. The app also allows riders to call the emergency line within the DART police department, and will complete connectivity even in stations with low reception. 

Convenient Timing

Some less-than-empathetic Facebook users noted that it’s oddly ironic that DART has invested a significant amount of money into their security, just as disgruntled member cities get closer to abandoning their contracts with the system. In a press release from Plano Mayor John Muns regarding his city’s potential departure from DART, he emphasized the need to establish an alternative. 

“Plano is committed to ensuring safe, reliable mobility options that serve the best interests of our residents,” said Muns. “We want our council and community to feel empowered to choose what transportation options work best for us.” 

At Dallas City Hall, DART safety has been a concern for some of the system’s more outspoken opponents. Council member Cara Medelsohn has regularly requested that the transit service supply the council with monthly crime and police updates, as opposed to the current quarterly schedule. “I think the public deserves the transparency of knowing what is happening in terms of safety incidents at DART,” Mendelsohn said to The Dallas Express. “The sense I get from constituents who talk about DART is that there’s a security problem, and even with their initiative to hire more law enforcement, it’s still problematic.”