City Council once again lowers Dallas police hiring goal to satisfy Prop U requirement

DALLAS - The Dallas City Council once again lowered its expectations over increasing the police force.

Last year, voters approved a charter amendment calling for a dramatic increase in officers.

Top brass at the Dallas Police Department say a dramatic increase just isn't realistic.

What we know:

After nearly two hours of spirited debate on Wednesday, the Dallas City Council passed a nonbinding resolution to beef up recruiting numbers within the Dallas Police Department.

However, instead of adding 325, they dropped the requirement to 300 next fiscal year.

The figure is more in line with what Dallas Interim Police Chief Michael Igo says is realistic to accomplish. He and the police union warn anything higher than that would negatively impact services.

"Moving the needle to 325 means me moving critical resources out of the patrol bureau with the thought of increased response times and increase in crime overall," he said.

That's because patrol resources would need to be redirected toward training recruits.

The backstory:

The department started this fiscal year with a hiring goal of 250, citing challenges to onboard and train rookie officers.

"My team is working extremely hard to fill our recruit classes," said Igo. "If it was as simple as snapping my fingers to get the recruits in, I’d do that in a heartbeat."

Earlier this month, the Dallas Public Safety Committee already voted to recommend a lower target of 325 new hires from the original proposal of 400 for next fiscal year.

Last November, voters passed Proposition U by a narrow margin. It changed the city charter to require DPD to increase its total rank and file up to 4,000 officers.

What they're saying:

Advocates who championed getting Prop U through say the current approach isn't going to cut it.

"This is not just a policy recommendation; this is a part of our city charter now," said Damien Leveck, Dallas HERO’s executive director. "So to achieve this goal, we must set hiring targets that will get us to 4,000 officers in 3-5 years. A hiring plan that does not do this does not align with the expectation of the voters you serve."

Featured

article

Dallas HERO Amendments: Props S, U passed

Former and current Dallas city leaders warned that the so-called HERO amendments sound good but could have disastrous results. However, voters approved two of them anyway.

At least two council members echoed that sentiment from the horseshoe, voting down the resolution on Wednesday.

"The only way we achieve a higher number is by setting a higher goal," said Councilmember Jesse Moreno. "Our hiring and recruitment goals must be aligned with our constituents’ priorities."

Councilmember Adam Bazaldua argued that adding staff too quickly and going against the advice of police would be irresponsible.

"I think it would be a slap in the face to the department for anyone of us to say that we know better than them," he said.

By the numbers:

Currently, the Dallas Police Department has a little more than 3,100 sworn officers on the payroll. The police chief also revealed on Wednesday that overall violent crime is down by 15%.

What's next:

Goals have been set for down the line.

The Dallas City Council wants to add 350 new officers next fiscal year and then 400 the year after that. 

But for right now, the focus remains on the immediate future.