OPINION:  VIEWPOINT In August 2003, the Dallas Morning News published my article, NEW LEADER SHOULD INCREASE MANPOWER.  The article, reprinted below, calls for hiring additional police so that Dallas will have three police for every 1000 citizens.  According to the front page article in the DMN on Sunday, February 5, 2006, that is now the stated goal of the Dallas city council.  CLICK HERE to read "Police recruits:  thinning blue line". Unfortunately, since 2003, when NEW LEADER SHOULD INCREASE MANPOWER was written, the Dallas Police have lost more police than they have hired and trained.  Since 2003, according to the above DMN article, the Dallas Police reports a net loss of 9 police, leaving Dallas with less police to citizen than it had in 2003.  You could double the number of police in Dallas and still not have as many police per citizen as New York City.  The City Council has goals, but is failing miserably at achieving those goals.  Talk is cheap and the City Council is all talk and no action.  In 2005 Dallas widened its lead over other major cities, with population over one million, as the city with the highest per capita crime rate in the nation. You do not achieve goals unless you have a plan to achieve those goals.  It is very easy to say "we have a goal of three police for every 1000 citizens".  But if you have no workable plan, then you wind up, like Dallas, with less police than you had before you set your goal.  Why do the citizens of Dallas continue to tolerate the complete incompetence of the Mayor and Council?  For additional information on the subject, CLICK HERE to read "HOW TO REDUCE CRIME IN DALLAS - Step #1:  Increase Police Manpower and Pay".     NEW LEADER SHOULD INCREASE MANPOWER (Published in VIEWPOINT section on Editorial page of Dallas Morning News) 08/29/03 How do we reduce crime in Dallas?  When you’re dead last…..look at who is in first place.  New York City has been designated by the FBI as safest large city in America for past five years. For starters, look at  NYC.  1.  SET GOALS AND DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY AT ALL LEVELS.  NYC reduced total crime per capita by 57% from 7252 crimes per 100,000 citizens down to 3140.  Every year, for eight years, crime decreased in every major crime category.  By comparison, in 2003 Dallas is tracking 9971 crimes per 100,000 citizens, which is 300% higher than NYC. 2.  HIRE MORE POLICE. If you double the number of police in Dallas, you still won’t have as many police per citizen as NYC.  Increase manpower 25%.  Add detectives to special units:  narcotics, warrants and gang enforcement.  This would give Dallas a ratio of 3 police per 1000 citizens. 3.  INSTALL COMPUTER TRACKING SYSTEM FOR CRIME.  NYC uses CompStat program that allows police to daily monitor crime  down to individual street corners, enabling each precinct to dispatch personnel to stop crime trends when they begin. Tracking system also allows management to measure performance of each precinct and hold them accountable. 4.  ADOPT “BROKEN WINDOWS” POLICING.  “Broken windows” means no tolerance for minor offenses such as panhandling, street drug-dealing, prostitution, graffiti, etc.  Left unattended, these crimes lead to more serious offenses and high-crime neighborhoods.  Misdemeanor enforcement decreases violent crime.  5.  INCREASE POLICE PAY.  Adjust to make Dallas police pay competitive.  This will stop loss of police to suburbs and improve morale.  Link improved performance & accountability to increase.  Raise taxes if necessary. 6.  HIRE POLICE CHIEF WHO IS COMPETENT AND BUYS INTO PLAN.  Set one year goal to reduce crime per capita in each crime category by specified minimum percent.  Demand significant improvement starting first year. 7.  CHECK www.dallascrime.com DAILY.  Crime will be tracked and results will be reported. Calie Calie Stephens Editor-dallascrime.com