Bringing broken windows to Dallas. Lowering crime without adding cops

We know Dallas has a serious crime problem. And we know Dallas can’t recruit and train new police officers quickly enough to get as many on the streets as we need to address the issue. And even if the city could, it’s doubtful we could pay all of them we need and still fix those same streets.

So there has to be another approach to dealing with crime.

That’s why it’s worth supporting Mayor Eric Johnson’s request last week that the city manager and city attorney prioritize a “blight remediation” program in an effort to reduce violent crime. We applaud this effort to reduce the burden on our police force and invest in our communities.

If you’ve been following crime and policing discourse lately, this might sound like “broken windows” theory to you. The buzzy criminology theory posits that, if a community falls into disrepair, crime will follow. Abandoned and dilapidated buildings — or broken windows — invite illicit behavior, the thinking goes.

In recent years, broken-windows theory developed a bad rap after it became associated with invasive policing tactics. The theory helped inspire New York City’s “stop and frisk” policy and aggressive policing of petty offenses.

But Johnson’s proposal, at least inspired by broken-windows theory, is intended to reduce our reliance on police while addressing invitations to crime.

Philadelphia is a helpful case study, and it’s a blueprint for Johnson’s proposed initiative. In 2010, the city adopted an ordinance that required owners of abandoned buildings to fix up the doors, windows and façades. These cleanup efforts reduced gun violence by 39%, according to a 2016 study in the American Journal of Public Health.

The Dallas City Council has already committed to funding blight remediation, but Johnson says he wants to take the initiative “to the next level.” We hope Johnson and City Manager T.C. Broadnax can agree on specifics in the coming months so the city can take this much-needed action.

Dallas has seen 127 homicides this year, compared to 109 homicides this time last year, according to police statistics. That’s a 16.5% rise — a disturbing development that deserves city attention and resources.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Police Department is facing a critical staffing shortage, with hundreds of unfilled positions and 27% of its force eligible for retirement.

We called on the city to work on recruiting and retaining officers. But we also need to reduce the strain on our department by strengthening our communities.

Fixing broken windows alone, of course, won’t solve the city’s crime wave. The Philadelphia-based study found that non-firearm violence, for example, wasn’t affected by blight remediation. But this program could be one piece of the crime-reduction puzzle.

Johnson’s other proposed non-policing solutions are promising, too. The mayor’s Task Force for Safe Communities recommended increasing street lighting in high-crime areas of the city, which has seen early signs of success. On one corridor of South Malcolm X Boulevard, violent crime fell 16% and 911 calls fell 44% since new lighting was installed, according to the mayor’s office.

Intuitively, these strategies make sense. Neighborhoods blighted with eyesores and dark corners make residents feel unsafe. Likewise, neighborhoods that show signs of TLC can inspire confidence, maybe even conscientiousness.

The mayor is right to support our cops and communities this way. Now it’s time to get the details right.

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