Jaime Resendez, District 5 council member, asked that the issue be put on the Public Safety Committee’s agenda. He said it’s one of the top public safety concerns in his district, but police said it’s also happening throughout Dallas. “It’s hard to go anywhere and talk to folks and not hear about this issue,” Resendez said. If it’s not fixed, he said, “It will continue to be a problem in our city. It will continue to be a part of the culture of this city.”
He and others on the committee said residents often call the police to report random gunfire, but much isn’t done beyond taking the report.
Adam McGough, District 10 council member and chair of the Public Safety Committee, admitted at this week’s meeting that he, too, often hears gunfire while at home and doesn’t report it to the police because he knows they are so strapped for resources.
Dallas Police Department Assistant Chief Michael Igo told the committee what the department is doing about the gunfire. “There are several different strategies we employ,” Igo said. When DPD gets a call about random gunfire, Igo said an officer will investigate potential gun crimes in the area it was reported in. The department is also trying to do more patrols in areas where random gunfire is known to occur.
The department also tries to find people wanted for gun crimes and gang activity that might be associated with random gunfire. Every patrol division now has a designated gun detective, something that was first piloted in Dallas’ Southwest Patrol Division. DPD is working on making those gun detectives task force officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) so they have access to more resources and can pursue federal prosecution of gun cases.“It’s hard to go anywhere and talk to folks and not hear about this issue." – Jaime Resendez, Dallas City Council
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DPD tries to use neighborhood patrol officers for community outreach in areas where gunfire occurs. In these areas, officers distribute flyers and door hangers and try to mitigate factors that might lead to random gunfire, including poor lighting and blight.
On the tech side of things, DPD has been using cameras, license plate readers, drones and shot detection systems to try to reduce random gunfire in the city. The shot detection systems use sound to try to determine the source of a shot. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of these devices, Igo said.
But Dallas City Council members on the Public Safety Committee said they and their constituents still believe that not enough is being done.
Resendez asked Igo how the department determines that random gunfire is becoming a regular occurrence in different parts of the city. According to Igo, it’s primarily based on 911 call data and resident complaints. “People say ‘Well, I hear it, I call it in. … Nothing happens,’” Resendez said.
Igo said an officer will usually respond to the report by phone or in person and talk to whoever reported gunfire to get more information. “We have to build a case, just like any other case, based on the merits and probable cause to be able to get a warrant and/or make an arrest,” Igo explained."It is everywhere." – Cara Mendelsohn, Dallas City Council
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But Resendez said that he wanted DPD to understand the frustration his residents are expressing to him. “I think, though, that we have to have a willingness to be more aggressive in terms of at least, like you said, going and knocking on these even though it might not lead to a conviction, it might not lead to an arrest,” he said. “But if DPD is making its presence known and saying ‘Hey, someone’s reporting this house. Cut the crap’ or something, so that the people that are reporting these things feel like something is happening because a lot of them don’t feel like anything is happening.”
Nearly everyone on the Public Safety Committee said they had similar issues with random gunfire in their districts. "It is everywhere," Cara Mendelsohn, District 12 council member, noted.
City Council member Tennell Atkins, who represents District 8, conveyed that some residents aren’t sure whether they should call the police to report random gunfire because there are likely higher-priority calls DPD needs to take. Igo said the department encourages residents to make these calls. “Obviously, we don't want our citizens stepping out and addressing anybody,” Igo said. “But if they do see somebody going out there and randomly shooting a gun, we need that reported.
“That is the best way for us to get that information and be able to start working on that location,” Igo said.
