On Monday, Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia revealed what he claims is a new accountability strategy that will lead the country in fostering trust.
Constitutional policing is the term for it.
The idea has not won over one activist, but the members of the Dallas City Council Public Safety Committee were happy to learn about it on Monday.
It’s going to be a cutting-edge innovation. We’ll be setting an example for the country in this regard, and I’m proud of the work we’re doing to make this happen,” Garcia stated.
Following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in 2020, protests against police took place around the country, and Dallas was not exempt. Before Garcia became chief, there were charges of wrongdoing by the Dallas Police during the demonstrations in May 2020.
Garcia informed the committee on Monday about this new program while summarizing the adjustments that Dallas has already adopted.
The department needs to take the initiative to identify our blind spots before anyone else does. In addition to ensuring public safety and lowering violent crime, we also aim to lead the law enforcement field by being professional and making every effort to stay on course. Garcia expressed this desire.
Committee members expressed resounding support for the proposal.
“I recognize that protecting the appropriate citizens and those engaged in that process might be difficult, but public safety in general is difficult as well. Additionally, I’m ecstatic that we will have a dedicated office for this,” stated Councilwoman Kathy Stewart.
Bystandership training is now provided to all Dallas police officers, teaching them how to step in and correct misbehavior even if it comes from a higher.
To document situations, every field officer has a shirt camera on them.
A Community Police Oversight Board oversees policies and discipline in Dallas.
The Constitutional Policing Unit’s goal will also be to promote all of that to the general population.
“It has been occurring as you described all of these procedures. Member of the City Council Gay Donnell Willis stated, “It just hasn’t lived under an umbrella that makes it easier for a resident to consume.”
Protests against Dallas Police have been spearheaded by activist Changa Higgins of Dallas.
He went over the presentation materials that Garcia had been given.
“It’s a good thing that the department wants to have any discussion about transparency and accountability, right? Higgins remarked, “I will, you know, commend the chief for that.” “What I’m seeing here just doesn’t seem to have a lot of substance.”
Higgins recently received his appointment to the Community Police Oversight Board. He claimed that in the past, the police had not always complied with the board’s requests.
This appears to be an attempt to get around the Office of Police Oversight. Workarounds are not what we want. We desire an actual, capable oversight body in this city that is able to carry out its duties,” Higgins stated.
Eight staff members, three sworn officers, and five civilian employees make up the unit’s current workforce, Garcia said the council members. Tarleton State University expert in criminal justice Alex Del Carmen also contributes to the unit.
“We’ll collaborate with our oversight board at all times. There are doubts regarding it. Again, though, we don’t want to get lost. We believe that our police department is very professional and free from tunnel vision. The only way to guarantee that this doesn’t happen is to constantly monitor it. And that’s what our goal is to do,” Garcia stated.
On Monday, police also gave the committee an update on the steady decrease in crime.
As of November 30, 2023, there has been a 12% decrease in violent crime overall as compared to the same period in 2022. 15% less assaults are aggravated. A ten percent rise in homicides is one exception.
