Burglaries Up, Other Crimes Down in One of Largest US Cities - Crime Spotlight on Dallas, TX

Dallas is still considered a relatively safe place to live, but it’s not as safe as it used to be. The city’s recent crime stats are out – and the numbers on residential crime are going the wrong way.

Dallas police say residential burglary is a citywide problem. So far this year, home break-ins are up nearly 2.5 percent over last year. "We definitely recognize that residential burglaries are slightly on the rise," Sgt. Warren Mitchell said. There have been 3,660 residential burglaries in Dallas so far this year. But crime is down in double digits in every other category from homicide to rape to robbery.

A Case in Point

Burglars moved in on Robin Smith's East Dallas house before she did. She said her home on Monticello Avenue was broken into just days before she was scheduled to move into her fixer-upper in the M Streets neighborhood. "They hauled a pretty good-sized refrigerator through the kitchen and out the back," Smith said. She said she activated her security system since the break-in. "One of the reasons we were attracted to the M Streets is it feels like a safe neighborhood, and apparently it's not that safe," she said.

Wow – this woman’s home was broken into before she even moved in! And it’s one thing to break in and grab cash jewelry, small electronics and even firearms – the usual items targeted by thieves - but a full-size refrigerator? The good news: she has a working security system, and now she is using it.

Local Crime Stats Begin with Burglaries

"Property crime is always the driving force to our crime rate and something we've been working on," Mitchell said. Dallas police said a plan is in the works to try and reverse the residential burglary trend. Details will be released in a few weeks.

Chances are your community has a lot in common with Dallas, with residential crime on the increase – so you’ll want to do everything you can in your quest for peace of mind when protecting your home and family. Of course, the best deterrent is a monitored home alarm system: especially one with safer cellular monitoring and smarter interactive features. FrontPoint specializes in the systems, as the #1 ranked home alarm company in the US, that’s our commitment. From California to Texas, from to Florida to Maine, in thousands of cities and towns all across the country, FrontPoint is doing the job.