On Wednesday, the City of Dallas brought their violent crime data back online for citizens to view for the first time since a ransomware attack back in May.
Police Chief Eddie Garcia said at the time that the unavailability of the data could affect police work, since officers operate on a grid system, concentrating patrols in areas of town with the highest crime rates.
But now that the data has re-emerged, it’s showing that violent crimes in Dallas are actually down about 11% over last year. That’s something that Dallas City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn said everyone is glad to hear.
"It's always nice when you can show a report where crime is way down," Mendelsohn told NBC 5. "And so I think we're all happy to have seen those reports."
The Dallas Police Department said the reduction is nothing they weren’t expecting, since they have concentrated their efforts on several initiatives this summer.
Still, it’s something Dallas Police Spokesperson Kristin Lowman told NBC 5 is certainly welcome, especially at a time of year when crime usually spikes.
"Not only are we reducing the number of violent incidents that are happening in our city, it's happening in the summer when normally you do see violent crime that's trending upward," Lowman said.
To check out Dallas’ Violent Crime Dashboard, click here.
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