Special Promotion

New Downtown Safety Patrol Launched by Downtown Improvement District
Highly Trained Team to Help Address Public Safety Downtown

For general information questions about the Downtown Safety Patrol, call 214.741.1151.

DOWNTOWN'S multi-faceted safety strategy features a 75-member Downtown unit of the Dallas Police Department, a proactive security directors association, strong emphasis on citizen involvement and effective programming by the Improvement District. The results have been remarkable - a 21% decrease in daytime crime since the inception of the DSP in 2004.

The Downtown Safety Patrol

Introduced by the Improvement District in 2004, the Downtown Safety Patrol serves as "extra eyes and ears" for the Dallas Police Department. With goals designed to improve the perception of safety in Downtown, the new program will address Downtown's public safety needs and provide a proactive approach to nuisance or quality of life issues. Safety Patrol officers completed an extensive 3 week training program that included workshops with the Dallas Police Department, DART, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau, the city's Crisis Intervention Team and federal officers. Operating on a flexible seven day schedule, Safety Patrol officers are deployed on foot and on bicycles. Primary duties include approaching and requesting compliance from individuals posing a negative impact to quality of life and maintaining an authoritative presence to deter crime. An Improvement District grant to the City of Dallas Environmental and Health Services has provided a team of caseworkers dedicated to homeless outreach in Downtown. Working closely with the Downtown Safety Patrol, this team focused on outreach to service-resistant individuals, monitoring needs of homeless individuals who are mentally ill or substance abusers and offering services and assistance on a daily basis.

To contact the Downtown Safety Patrol for assistance, call 214.741.1151 or email safetypatrol@downtowndallas.org.

Other Improvement District Safety Programs…

• A message system for Downtown security directors and a Downtown Emergency Response Plan, which includes two communications tools: the dallasalert.org website and AM 1680 radio station.
• Personal safety tools for the Downtown community include the Dallas Police Department's free on-site seminars and safety tips in "Blow the Whistle" brochures and the monthly DownTown Dallas flyer.
• Equipment purchases such as paddy wagons, custom bicycles and computers assist operations of the Dallas Police Department.
• Now citywide, the LOCK Your Car, TAKE Your Keys and HIDE Your Belongings campaign was created to reduce auto-related crimes in Downtown.