DALLAS — The Dallas murder rate is skyrocketing.
Police Chief David Brown says homicides are up 86 percent from the same time last year.
On Monday, the chief set up a public safety meeting to discuss a plan to stop the violence, and it doesn't come without controversy.
In his presentation Monday morning, Brown said that there had been 41 murders through Sunday, compared to 22 murders the year from the same time the year before. That is the 86 percent increase to which he referred.
But according to other numbers obtained from the department, there have been 44 murders compared to 26 to date last year, amounting to a 69 percent increase.
The most recent crime involves two teenage victims who were killed in northeast Dallas shootings. Sources say police believe about 15 of this year's murder cases have a drug connection. That's more than three times the number at this time last year, when there were four.
There's also a spike in family violence killings. However, only two of those cases involve intimate partners.
Now, Brown is presenting a plan to do something unprecedented.
- 600 officers will be moved into the field during the evening shift
- Chief Brown says a pool of 700 officers will be asked to rotate to foot patrol
- They'll expand beyond high-crime areas
- Special task forces are being set up to target the uptick in crimes like murders, assaults, and burglaries. For example, The Violent Crime Task Force started earlier this month
- Read full release from Dallas Police Department
The plan requires radical shifts in scheduling.
Officers say the changes come without warning. Many say morale is already critically low, and that impacts their ability to serve and protect successfully.
Monday, Thomas L. Glover, Sr., with the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas, released a statement in which the organization asked for the Brown's resignation.
"The department is at risk of erupting into chaos," Glover said. "This cannot happen to the great City of Dallas and its fine citizens. As such, we emphatically state that we believe his tenure as Chief of Police should end."
