Dallas Under-Funding Police to the Point Where Life-Threatening Calls Go Unanswered

[Bitter Clinger]

There are plenty of cops in Dallas. The problem isn't under funding. The problem is bad management.

Do you have objective evidence that would support your claim of adequate staffing?

[C-dub]

My wife keeps saying she wants to move in to Dallas from the 'burbs. I keep saying no.

What in the wide world of sports would she want to do that? Does she work down town and is tired of the commute? I can't think of any other reason and that's not even a good one.

There's a saying, "Live close to where you play, not where you work."

[Bitter Clinger]

My wife keeps saying she wants to move in to Dallas from the 'burbs. I keep saying no.

What in the wide world of sports would she want to do that? Does she work down town and is tired of the commute? I can't think of any other reason and that's not even a good one.

There's a saying, "Live close to where you play, not where you work."

Wait, wait. I need more shooters!

[ScottDLS]

This has got to be more than underfunding. I'm sure Dallas could do more to recruit/train/develop the police force, but you don't get this bad just from short funding. I suspect poor management from middle to upper. The leadership (Mayor, Chief, City Manager, etc) set the tone. I wonder how many desk flying sergeants, admin officers, paper pushers, and bureaucrats are sitting around. Get everyone out on the street, turn in the tanks and rocket launchers and other toys and fix the squad cars, radios, mobile terminals, and even bikes. Get new head of dispatch.... OK I'm no expert on police administration, but I'll bet a city as big as Dallas could find someone who is. Instead they get a "Failed State" Chief from Mogadishu (sorry Detroit).

One rumor rampant in Dallas right now is that the reason Dallas is not upping the pay of policemen to fill the shortage of 500+ policemen that are needed is because the new Chief of Police was promised a sizeable bonus if she did not increase the current Police department budget. No way to verify this unfortunately.

The mayoral run-off race in Dallas is starting to heat up in regard to the policing issue. Scott Griggs wants to increase the number of police on the force and street immediately. DemocRat Eric Johnson wants to "wait till we build up South Dallas to pay for them". Griggs says there is money if we cut out all the slush funds like the patently corrupt "VisitDallas". Money that goes to South Dallas seems to end up in pockets that don’t need it, then indictments, etc. Time to focus on basics for the tax-paying citizens.

“When it comes to making Dallas a safer place, Scott Griggs is, by far, the superior candidate,” Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata said in a prepared statement.As the police department has shrunk in recent years — the association has blamed low morale, low pay and concerns about their troubled pension system — Griggs has been a consistent critic at City Hall about police staffing concerns. In particular, he has raised questions about how the shortage of officers has contributed to the department’s slow response time on high-priority calls.

If you live in Dallas and don't vote, then don't complain when it turns into San Francisco or Detroit.

I moved out of Dallas in 1998 to Denton County. It was a dump then and it's getting worse. They'll probably vote themselves a mayor like DeCommieo in NYC. Luckily municipalities are legally fairly weak in Texas. Although Dallas County is a disaster too.