Monday, February 01, 2010

Cops Admit that Dallas Crime Records Are Not Accurate

We need to be thankful that we have a great local newspaper here in Dallas, because they may be the only ones that are caring enough to give us the real skinny about crime in our community.

The Dallas Morning News has been waving the red flag for awhile now, telling anyone who would listen that the Dallas Police Department was NOT keeping track of crimes committed in our area according to FBI guidelines. And now, Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle has confirmed this, quoted in the paper as saying that he doesn't believe that the FBI guidelines should be followed "...like they were in the Bible."

What About Uniform Crime Statistics Across the Country?

There's a reason for the FBI guidelines. If everyone follows them, then there's a basis for organizing all the different records from all over the nation so comparisons can be made.

It looks like Dallas is monkeying with how it reports crimes so that the Dallas Police Department doesn't look like its dealing with as many serious crimes as it might be. The Dallas Morning News already reported on how auto burglaries weren't being included, so that the cop statistics looked better, and how Dallas PD tallies some assaults as lesser offenses -- which keeps Dallas' violent crime rate skewed lower than the truth in national studies.

Dallas Cops v FBI?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation isn't above taking on an entire city's police department. They're doing that right now, down in San Antonio. With all this number-crunching manipulation, will Dallas be next? You gotta wonder.