More DPD Surveillance Cams are Coming. And Here's a List of Where They're Needed.

By Robert Wilonsky Mon., Apr. 20 2009 at 8:34 AM

Categories: Crime

The Dallas City Council's committees have plenty on their plates today -- everything from establishing a trust fund related to the NBA All-Star game to checking in on the Lancaster Corridor, which is in serious need of some upgrading, to parsing over crime stats (according to the Dallas Police Department, homicides are down; so too are all other criminal activities). But for those wondering which areas of the city are identified as having the highest crime rate, check out the end of the Public Safety Committee's briefing dedicated to discussing surveillance cameras.

The doc's got plenty of interesting stats: where the next round of surveillance cameras are going downtown and in Jubilee Park near Fair Park, who else wants them, who's going to pay for them. And it raises the suggestion that DPD doesn't have enough eyeballs on the cameras: Studies show officers can only effectively watch 25 cameras at one time, but at the moment the two officers on duty per shift are being forced to cover 100 -- and that's before the expansion expected by month's end.

DPD offers one solution: Prioritize the so-called Targeted Action Area Grid areas suffering the highest crime. Which are? Well, for starters, the Northwest Highway-Harry Hines Boulevard area tops the pops with 50 violent crimes reported since January 1, followed closely by Forest Lane-Audelia Road with 48. Rounding out the Top Five: the Jefferson Corridor (46), Camp Wisdom Road-Chaucer Place and Cedar Springs Road-Wycliff Avenue (both 44) and Ross and Bennett Avenues (41). The 26 so-called TAAG areas represent 32 percent of the city's crimes. Oooh, look, more Harry Hines -- at Walnut Hill Lane! Like a VH1 I Love the '80s special.

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