I know 148 murders sounds like quite a few, but according to statistics released by the city, that’s the lowest number of murders in Dallas since 1967 (our high was 500 in 1991).
Mayor Tom Leppert praised himself and the council for continuing to fund more beat cops even as the city budget tightened, according to the DMN, while city manager Mary Suhm praised the police department for its efforts.
Without taking anything away from our city leaders, of course, the number of murders seems to be falling nationwide in major citiies; some experts credit improved medical care, some point to more cops on the streets (like we have here in Dallas), and others credit a “stabilizing” drug market (the crack dealers have sorted out who’s in charge of what parts of the city, so they don’t need to kill each other as often anymore).
So who is still getting murdered in Dallas? Statistics show that 90 percent of the 148 people murdered were black or Hispanic, 87 percent were male and 65 percent were 34 or younger.