MORNING. TODAY IS DECEMBER 9TH. IT IS 9:18. THIS IS THE HOUSING AND HOMELESS SOLUTIONS COMMITTEE.
[Housing and Homelessness Solutions on December 9, 2025.]
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WE JUST BARELY HAVE A QUORUM, SO HERE WE GO. THANKS FOR EVERYONE WHO'S HERE.STARTING WITH OUR FIRST ITEM, IT'S APPROVAL OF OUR LAST MEETINGS MINUTES, WHICH IS FOR NOVEMBER 4TH.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? MOTION. SECOND.
THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND. IS THERE ANY CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVAL, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE.
ANY OPPOSED? MINUTES ARE PASSED UNANIMOUSLY. THANK YOU.
NEXT MONTH ON THE AGENDA, WE WILL HAVE AN ITEM ASKING ALL OF THE AREAS THAT REPORT TO THIS, MEANING HOUSING, HOMELESSNESS AND FAIR HOUSING TO PROVIDE US A LIST OF ALL THE PROGRAMS IN THEIR SPAN OF CONTROL.
AND WE'LL JUST ASK THEM TO DO EACH SECTION, WILL HAVE ITS OWN MEMO.
AND OF COURSE, THIS WILL BE POSTED IN ADVANCE.
AND ASSUMING THEY DO IT AND IT'S COMPLETE, THEY WILL RECEIVE THE SAME BONUS THAT PUBLIC SAFETY CHALLENGE IS ALSO GETTING AS WELL AS EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND THE COURTS, WHICH IS HOMEMADE BROWNIES AND BANANAS.
SO THIS IS YOUR CHALLENGE TO LIST OUT ALL THE PROGRAMS BY UNIT.
SO HOMELESSNESS, ONE, HOUSING, ONE, FAIR HOUSING, ONE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. SO THAT WILL BE NEXT MONTH.
WE HAD A REALLY WONDERFUL CONVERSATION WHERE HE SHARED HOW HE HAS TAKEN SOME OF DALLAS´ OWN DATA TO BE ABLE TO SHOW US SOME NEW AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION. SO, DOCTOR GWINN, WE ARE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU.
YOU GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE TALKING AS CLOSE INTO THAT MICROPHONE AS YOU'RE COMFORTABLE.
IT'S MUCH CLOSER THAN YOU WOULD THINK. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM YOU.
HOW ARE YOU TODAY? I'M ALLEN GWINN. AND AS THEY SAID, I'M A CLINICAL PROFESSOR.
I TEACH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, DATA ANALYTICS TEACH UNDERGRADUATES HOW TO PROGRAM IN PYTHON WHERE THEY'VE NEVER HEARD WHAT PYTHON IS. SO WE ACTUALLY GIVE THEM THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO PRESENTATIONS AND UNDERSTAND DATA VISUALIZATIONS AND BEING ABLE TO ANALYZE DATA AND THAT SORT OF THING.
SO I'M SORT OF A BIG DATA JUNKIE. I'M ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT BELIEVES THE MORE DATA THERE IS, THE BETTER IT IS. AND DATA ALWAYS HAS A STORY TO TELL.
AND OF COURSE, ONE OF THE BIGGEST PRODUCERS OF DATA HAPPENS TO BE THE PUBLIC SECTOR.
RIGHT? SO WE GATHER DATA AS A CITY AND ARGUABLY THAT DATA CONCERNS ALL OF US. RIGHT? SO DALLAS ACTUALLY IS PRETTY OPEN WITH DATA.
THERE'S A WEBSITE CALLED DALLASOPENDATA.COM, AND I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND SHARE MY SCREEN.
HERE'S WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD. I'M GOING TO TRY THE IPAD.
AND WE'RE GOING TO SEE IF THE IPAD WORKS REAL WELL.
AND IF IT DOESN'T I HAVE A BACKUP LAPTOP OVER HERE, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THAT'S GOING TO WORK.
LET'S SEE. I'M GOING TO DRAG THIS UP. GO BACK OVER HERE AND THERE WE GO.
AND IF YOU HAVE A LAPTOP IN FRONT OF YOU AND YOU WANT TO FOLLOW ALONG, IT'S NOT REALLY OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE, BUT YOU CAN GO TO WWW.DALLAS.ORG. AND IF YOU GO THERE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SCROLL THROUGH AND SEE THIS PRESENTATION. OKAY. SO A COUPLE OF REALLY INTERESTING DATA SETS.
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ALL THE WAY TO WHATEVER HAPPENED YESTERDAY ALONG ABOUT 11:00 AT NIGHT.AND THAT GOES BACK. IT'S AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE FROM 2018.
I'VE GOT DATA GOING BACK TO 2014 THAT I'VE KIND OF PUT TOGETHER WITH IT.
SO THE DATA THAT I USE IS PRETTY MUCH. IF I CAN GET BACK TO IT HERE, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN. WE'LL SEE HERE. THERE WE GO.
OKAY, SO THERE'S THE DALLAS POLICE INCIDENT DATA.
YOU CAN SEE ALSO, THERE'S DATA SET FOR 311 SERVICE REQUESTS.
NOW CRIME DATA IS SORT OF A BANE OF EVERYONE'S EXISTENCE.
AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE IT'S ALWAYS INCOMPLETE, RIGHT? IT SUFFERS FROM WHAT WE CALL SELF-SELECTION BIAS.
SO I HAPPEN TO LEAVE A NOTEBOOK OUT OR SOMETHING, OR I LEAVE A PHONE LAYING OUT OR SOMETHING, AND SOMEBODY GOES AND STEALS IT. IT'S UP TO ME TO REPORT IT.
MAYBE I GO, YOU KNOW WHAT? IT WAS AN OLD PHONE ANYWAY.
I DON'T CARE ABOUT IT. I'M GOING TO GO BUY A NEW PHONE.
WHO CARES? I DON'T REPORT IT. THAT WAS A CRIME.
BUT BECAUSE IT DIDN'T GET REPORTED, IT DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN.
AND SO THAT'S ONE THING THAT AFFECTS CRIME DATA.
ANOTHER ONE THAT AFFECTS THE DALLAS CRIME DATA IS THAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT NOTES.
AND IT'S ACTUALLY IN THE NOTES. THAT THE DATA ARE FILTERED TO EXCLUDE CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF CRIMES.
RIGHT? SO BY DEFINITION, WHAT'S PUBLISHED IS INCOMPLETE.
THEN THERE'S ALSO DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES. I LIKE TO REFER BACK TO THE SUMMER OF 2023, WHEN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT STOPPED TAKING 911 CALLS FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES. RIGHT? OH. YOU GOT TO GO TO THE WEBSITE.
WELL, HOW MANY PEOPLE, AS A RESULT OF THAT DECIDED, YOU KNOW, JUST TOO MUCH EFFORT.
THAT SORT OF THING. SO THEY DECIDED NOT TO REPORT IT.
SO CRIME CAN NOT BE REPORTED AND GIVE THE ILLUSION THAT CRIME IS ACTUALLY GOING DOWN.
BUT YOU REALLY CAN'T DRAW THOSE KINDS OF CONCLUSIONS FROM CRIME DATA, RIGHT? SO I HAVE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, CRIME DATA ITSELF MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE TO CONCLUDE THAT CRIME IS DECLINING, WHEN IT MAY JUST BE CRIME REPORTING THAT'S DECLINING.
SO THAT´S SOMETHING TO KEEP IN MIND WITH RESPECT TO CRIME DATA.
OKAY. EVERYBODY FOLLOWING SO FAR? GOOD. OKAY.
SO I STARTED EXPLORING THE DATA AND KIND OF LOOKING THROUGH THE DALLAS 311 DATA.
AND OF COURSE, I'VE LOOKED AT THE CRIME INCIDENT DATA FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND WHEN I PULLED DOWN THE 311 DATA AND STARTED LOOKING THROUGH IT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DO IS I TRY TO GROUP BY THE TYPES OF CALLS THAT THERE ARE AND OH, WOW, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE REPORTING HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS.
AND SPECIFICALLY IN THE FIVE YEAR PERIOD BETWEEN OCTOBER 1ST OF 2020 AND SEPTEMBER 30TH OF 2025, THERE WERE, WHAT, 4545 CALLS THAT WERE LOGGED IN THAT DATA SET THAT HAD TO DO WITH REPORTING OF HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS. SO I WENT AHEAD AND I PUT THEM DOWN ON A BAR CHART HERE, MONTH OVER MONTH.
SO YOU CAN SEE IT HAS KIND OF A NICE STEADY UPWARD LINEAR TREND LINE ON THAT.
SO THAT´S INCREASING. BUT ONE THING THAT'S COOL ABOUT ALL OF THE DALLAS DATA SETS IS THEY HAVE XY COORDINATES OR LATITUDE LONGITUDE COORDINATES.
RIGHT? SO YOU CAN MAKE THOSE COMMON. RIGHT? I CAN GO IN THERE AND SAY, OKAY, THIS MANY CALLS HAPPENED AT THIS PARTICULAR QUARTER NEARBY THESE COORDINATES OR THESE DIFFERENT ADDRESSES CAN BE ASSIGNED TO COORDINATES.
NOW THERE'S A BIG HOLE IN THE MIDDLE. UNIVERSITY PARK AND HIGHLAND PARK ARE NOT THE CITY OF DALLAS, SO YOU DON'T GET THEIR DATA. BUT I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN ZOOM IN ON IT.
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OF SHOWS. IF WE CAN ZOOM OUT JUST A LITTLE BIT.YEAH. IT'S SHOW. SO A LOT OF REPORTS COMING FROM THE CENTRAL AREA OF THE CITY GOING OUT NORTH, IF YOU'VE DRIVEN OUT CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY, I MEAN, THE HEAT MAP, THE LOCATIONS THAT YOU SEE ARE NOT SURPRISING.
IT'S WHERE YOU SEE THEM GO DOWN TO THE SOUTHERN SECTOR, ACROSS THE BRIDGE.
SO YOU ZOOM OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE. YOU KNOW, THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS ARE VISIBLE DOWN IN THAT AREA, BUT ABOUT 45,000 REPORTS OVER A FIVE YEAR PERIOD.
RIGHT? SO. CAN YOU ZOOM OUT A LITTLE BIT SO YOU CAN SHOW THE WHOLE CITY FOR US? YEAH I MEAN, NOW AGAIN, IT'S A HEAT MAP. SO RED MEANS A WHOLE LOT OF REPORTS.
FURTHER OUT YOU ZOOM THE MORE GEOGRAPHIC AREA THAT RED IS GOING TO COVER.
DOES THAT HELP RIGHT THERE? WELL, I'M ACTUALLY LOOKING TO SEE THE WHOLE CITY BECAUSE, YEAH, IT'S ALL RED. OH, I ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING THAT MAY BE BETTER LATER ON IN THIS PRESENTATION.
SO I WAS JUST GOING TO KIND OF SHOW YOU THIS FOR RIGHT NOW, BUT I ACTUALLY HAVE ANOTHER VISUALIZATION THAT WILL HELP YOU SEE THE WHOLE CITY HERE IN A SECOND. SO ANYWAY, AGAIN, IF YOU GO POKE AROUND IN IT, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THERE ARE CONCENTRATION. THE CLOSER YOU ZOOM IN, THE BETTER THE PRESENTATION AS FAR AS THE HEAT MAP GOES.
OKAY. SO I WAS POKING AROUND IN THE IN THE DALLAS POLICE INCIDENT DATA AND LOOKING AT, GEE, HOW DO I CATEGORIZE THIS DATA? HOW CAN I GROUP LIKE THINGS AND BE ABLE TO ANALYZE SPECIFIC PIECES OF THIS? AND I RAN ACROSS A CATEGORY, ACTUALLY THREE CATEGORIES OF DEATHS. ACCIDENTAL DEATHS, UNEXPLAINED DEATHS AND NATURAL DEATHS.
AND THEY HAD THE TAG ON THE END, NO OFFENSE, RIGHT? IN A PARENTHESIS. SO I STARTED LOOKING AT, WELL, WHERE DO THESE OCCUR? AND YOU'D SEE WHERE THEY OCCURRED IN RESIDENTIAL SETTINGS AND APARTMENTS AND HOTEL/MOTELS AND HOSPITALS, PLACES THAT I GUESS YOU'D EXPECT TO HAVE PEOPLE PASS AWAY AND SOMEBODY WAKES UP.
YEAH. LOOKS OVER. MY FRIEND OVER HERE HAS PASSED ON.
CALL THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT. I GUESS THE OFFICERS HERE CAN CAN TELL US, THEY LIKELY GO OUT AND LOOK AT THE SCENE AND SAY, YEAH, YOU KNOW, IT LOOKS LIKE A NATURAL DEATH.
SO WHAT I DID WAS I SAID, HEY, I WONDER BECAUSE THERE ARE AN AWFUL LOT OF DEATHS THAT SEEM TO OCCUR IN AREAS OTHER THAN IN RESIDENTIAL SETTINGS. SO WHAT I DID WAS I FILTERED THE DATA TO FILTER OUT HIGHWAY, STREETS, ALLEY, ETC.
AND SO, YOU KNOW VACANT STRUCTURES, FIELDS, WOODS, PARKING LOTS, SERVICE STATIONS, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. AND SO WHEN I GOT THOSE, I HAD, I THINK IT WAS 1215 OBSERVATIONS OR SOMETHING, OVER 1200 MEETS THAT CRITERIA. RIGHT? SO I LOOKED AT THOSE OVER TIME, FROM OCTOBER OF 2020, ALL THE WAY TO THE PRESENT. RIGHT? SO THIS PARTICULAR CHART RIGHT THERE SHOWS AND THERE'S A SLIGHT UPWARD TREND IN THAT.
RIGHT? SO WHAT YOU CAN DO IS YOU CAN PLOT THOSE IN AND, COUNCIL MEMBER ZOOM OUT JUST A TAD HERE.
OKAY. AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW THE PINS ARE, I GUESS A LITTLE BIT LARGER, BUT YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE CONCENTRATIONS ARE. SO MUCH HEAVIER CONCENTRATION IN THE SOUTHERN SECTOR THAN IN THE NORTHERN SECTOR.
AND FOR SOME STRANGE REASON, WE ENDED UP IN TECUMSEH, OKLAHOMA HERE.
LET ME GET US BACK DOWN TO DALLAS. THAT'S OPEN STREET MAP ON AN IPAD FOR YOU.
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SO WE'LL ZOOM IN JUST A TAD HERE.ALL RIGHT, SO HERE ARE WHERE THEY'RE FINDING PEOPLE IN NONRESIDENTIAL SETTINGS. OKAY? IF YOU LOOK AT IT.
AND IF YOU TAP ON EACH OF THESE, IT'LL TELL YOU WHERE THEY WERE FOUND AND GIVE YOU THE NARRATIVE.
SO, LIKE THIS PERSON OVER HERE FOUND IN A HIGHWAY, STREET, ALLEY, ETC.
UNEXPLAINED DEATH RIGHT THERE. VICTIM DIED UNEXPLAINABLY.
I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY THE SAME THING AS AN UNEXPLAINED DEATH.
RIGHT? AND THERE ARE SOME MISCLASSIFICATIONS.
SO I FOUND ONE WHERE IT SAID VICTIM DIED IN A NURSING HOME.
AND THEY HAD THE LOCATION LISTED AS OTHER. BUT REPORTING ANOMALIES CAN GO BOTH WAYS.
DID THEY FIND SOMEONE IN AN OUTDOOR SETTING, MAYBE IN A TENT AND SAY, WELL, THAT'S THEIR RESIDENCE, SO I'LL PUT THAT DOWN AS A RESIDENTIAL DEATH, THAT SORT OF THING.
SO AGAIN, IT'S NOT A PERFECT SCIENCE. YOU KIND OF HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND ANALYZE IT IF YOU WANT TO GET DOWN TO THAT GRANULARITY. BUT THEN I THOUGHT, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE TOOK THESE HOMELESS DEATHS AND WE PUT THEM ON TOP OF THAT HEAT MAP? SO THE HOMELESS DEATHS OUT OF THE DALLAS POLICE DATA, AND WE PUT THAT ON TOP OF THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS OUT OF THE DALLAS 311 DATA? SO I WENT AHEAD AND DID THAT. AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW, THERE APPEARS TO BE SOME CORRELATIONS.
BUT AS WE ZOOM IN ON THESE. OKAY. WE CAN SEE THAT THE DATA IS BEGINNING TO TELL US A STORY ABOUT THESE.
AND ZOOM OUT A LITTLE BIT. AND THERE SURE DO SEEM TO BE VISUALLY A CORRELATION BETWEEN REPORTS TO 311 OF HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS AND PEOPLE FOUND EXPIRED IN AN OUTDOOR SETTING. SO IT KIND OF CHANGES THE NARRATIVE A LITTLE BIT, DOESN'T IT? SO WE HAVE THAT. SO IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT MAYBE THE DATA CAN TELL US WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE SOME CHANGES? SO CLICK ON THE BIG BLUE BUTTON. AND I KNOW THAT DART IS KIND OF A HARD TOPIC RIGHT NOW.
IT'S KIND OF ON A LOT OF AGENCIES AND PEOPLE'S AGENDA TO SAY, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN MAKE THIS BETTER? AND IS THERE A PROBLEM MAYBE WHERE RETOOLING DART COULD HELP WITH THIS. SO I HAVE TALKED WITH NUMEROUS PEOPLE WHO TELL ME THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR JOB IF THEY WENT ON RECORD WITH ANY OF THIS. BUT DART, AS BEST I CAN TELL, ALLOWS ANYONE WHO SHOWS UP AT THE DOOR OF A BUS OR A TRAIN OR ANYTHING ELSE, AND THEY DECIDE THEY WANT TO BE CONFRONTATIONAL.
THEY JUST ALLOW THEM TO RIDE. FAIR OR NO FAIR.
SOMEBODY COMES UP AND GETS ON THE BUS, IGNORES THE DRIVER.
THEY CLOSE THE DOOR AND JUST START DRIVING AGAIN.
AND IT'S BEST DESCRIBING DART WON'T DENY THIS.
I MEAN, THEY'LL TELL YOU THAT YES, THEY DO THIS FOR DRIVER SAFETY.
BUT THEY WANT TO AVOID CONFRONTATION WITH THOSE WHO, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS MAY BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF SOMETHING OR MAYBE EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED. AND THIS IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IT'S NOT JUST HERE. ALSO TRANSIT STOPS AND TRANSIT
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FACILITIES HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED OVER TIME AS GENERATORS OF SPECIFICALLY ASSAULTS AND ROBBERIES.OKAY. THE OTHER THING ABOUT DART IS I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HAS TRIED TO GET DATA OUT OF DART, BUT IT CAN BE JUST A VIRTUAL IMPOSSIBILITY. THEY TEND TO BE VERY SECRETIVE, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT.
JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE, BECAUSE IF YOU'RE OPEN WITH YOUR DATA, MAYBE SOMEBODY'S GOING TO COME UP WITH A GOOD IDEA ON HOW TO SOLVE SOME PROBLEMS, RIGHT? BUT WE TEND TO TRY TO MAYBE CLOSE OFF OUR DATA AND NOT REALLY TALK ABOUT IT BECAUSE WE SORT OF WANT TO MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO.
AND I THINK IF YOU HAVE ANY SOCIOLOGISTS, THEY'LL TELL YOU THAT'S IN OUR HUMAN NATURE.
RIGHT? BUT AS IT TURNS OUT, WE'RE REALLY NOT INTERESTED.
WE'RE INTERESTED IN THE CRIME THAT HAPPENS AROUND DART.
WE'RE INTERESTED IN HOW DART AFFECTS THE CITY OF DALLAS OR ANY OF THE OTHER CITIES.
AND AS THAT TURNS OUT, THAT'S BEST CAPTURED AGAIN IN THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT DATA.
RIGHT? SO YOU COULD SAY THAT, YEAH. YOU KNOW, DART MAY BE SECRETIVE WITH THEIR DATA.
THAT´S WELL DOCUMENTED. YOU CAN GET A KMC FILE AND PUT IT INTO YOUR OPENSTREETMAP.
THE LITTLE BLACK DOTS THERE ARE THE TRAIN STATIONS.
BLUE LINES ARE WHERE THE BUSSES RUN. RIGHT? SO NOT MUCH ROCKET SURGERY THERE.
AND THEN WHAT WE CAN DO. SO IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO VISUALIZE.
SO A HEAT MAP ON TOP OF ANOTHER HEAT MAP REALLY DOESN'T WORK, RIGHT? YOU ONLY HAVE ONE HEAT MAP AT A TIME. YOU SAY, WELL IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF BLUE COMBINED WITH THIS LITTLE BIT OF RED SHOWS US THIS.
THAT'S NOT A REAL GOOD WAY TO LOOK AT DATA. SO WHAT I DID WAS I SAID, OKAY, LET'S LOOK AT WHERE THESE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS ARE BEING REPORTED AND LET'S AGGREGATE THEM.
SO IF WE HAVE A PLACE THAT'S GETTING 100 CALLS AND THEN MAYBE SOMEPLACE THAT'S LESS THAN 250M AWAY, THAT GETS TEN CALLS. LET'S MAKE ONE BIG PEN OVER HERE WITH 110, AND THEN JUST TAKE THIS PEN OUT SO THAT WE AREN'T CONFUSED BY THE DATA THAT WE'RE SEEING.
RIGHT? SO WHAT I DID WAS AND HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
OKAY. SO I TOOK THE HEAT MAP DATA AND THE LATITUDE LONGITUDE DATA THAT GENERATED IT AND SAID OKAY, HERE'S SOME LIKE MASTER COORDINATES WHERE WE'RE GETTING THESE CALLS.
SO YOU CAN TAP ON THEM AND YOU CAN SEE, LIKE I'VE ROLLED UP 261 REPORTS WITHIN 250M OF THAT PARTICULAR LOCATION. 44 REPORTS WITHIN 250M OF THAT LOCATION.
AND THEN WHAT I DID WAS I EXCLUDED DATA POINTS THAT HAD LESS THAN 25 LOCATIONS.
I MEAN, I CAN DO ONE OF THOSE IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN IT.
TAKES TAKES TWO MINUTES TO DO IT. BUT ANYWAY, SO WHAT I'M GOING TO DO IS I'M GOING TO TAKE THE HEAT MAP OUT NOW OF THE HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS. I'M JUST GOING TO LEAVE THE LITTLE RED POINTS WHICH SHOW WHERE THEY ARE.
AND LET'S OVERLAY THE DART MAP, THE ROUTE MAP WITH THESE MAJOR REPORTS OF HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS.
AND IF YOU ZOOM IN ON ANYTHING. AND YOU CAN SEE THIS ALL AROUND THE CITY.
THAT HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS TEND TO BE BUILT AROUND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. AND AGAIN, THAT´S NOT UNEXPECTED, RIGHT? AND YOU CAN SEE THIS ALL OVER THE CITY OF DALLAS RIGHT HERE.
SO AGAIN, WHEREVER YOU'RE DRIVING, YOU CAN, YOU KNOW, LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND YOU
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CAN SEE THE ACTIVITY AROUND THESE DATA POINTS.SO THESE ARE WELL KNOWN AT THIS POINT. SO OKAY, EVERYBODY ON BOARD NOW.
SO NOW I'VE GOT A DART ROUTE MAP, OKAY. WITH LITTLE BLUE LINES THAT SHOW WHERE THE BUSSES RUN.
I HAVE RED WHICH ARE THE MAJOR NODES ROLLED UP AGGREGATED DATA POINTS FOR HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS.
AND THEN I HAVE THE BLACK POINTS, WHICH ARE THE TRAIN STATIONS.
RIGHT? SO YOU CAN SORT OF VISUALIZE WHERE DART IS.
OKAY. SO AGAIN, THERE'S RESEARCH. AND THIS ISN'T THE ONLY PIECE I LINKED TO ONE PIECE OF RESEARCH, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF RESEARCH THAT CALLS FOR A STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN VIOLENT CRIME AND PUBLIC TRANSIT. ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THAT I'VE SEEN IS THE BACKWARDS LOOKING.
THEY LOOKED OKAY. SO SEPTA WENT ON STRIKE A COUPLE OF TIMES.
AND WHEN THEY DID, THEY LOOKED AT WHAT HAPPENED TO CRIME.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THE RESULTS TOTAL CRIME DECREASED BY 38% WITHIN 100M OF THE STATIONS.
SO THIS IS ALL FAIRLY WELL DOCUMENTED. BUT SINCE WE HAVE ALL OF THIS, WE CAN NOW TAKE THE POINTS WHERE WE HAVE FELONIES. OH, THIS IS ONE OTHER.
LET ME DO A REAL QUICK SIDE NOTE HERE. THE DALLAS POLICE INCIDENT DATA IS SOMEWHAT INCONSISTENT IN HOW THEY RECORD SPECIFIC ACTS. SO I DECIDED I WASN'T INTERESTED IN THAT.
WHAT I WAS INTERESTED IN WAS PENAL CODE VIOLATIONS.
SO I WAS ABLE TO PULL OUT ALL THE FELONY ASSAULTS.
AND I DECIDED, WELL, LET'S TAKE THAT MAP THAT I JUST SHOWED YOU AND LET'S DO A HEAT MAP OF FELONY ASSAULTS, OKAY? AND WE CAN ZOOM IN. AND AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THE AREAS WHERE FELONY ASSAULTS ARE DOCUMENTED WITH HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS ON IT. RIGHT? SO THERE YOU GO.
SO THERE ARE SEVERAL SCHOLARLY THEORIES ABOUT DISORDER, BREEDING DISORDER, AND VIOLENT ACTS ATTRACTING OTHER VIOLENT ACTS. OUR FRIENDS FROM THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT CAN PROBABLY ADDRESS THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
WE CAN ADD ROBBERIES ON THERE. OKAY? SO THESE ARE ROBBERIES AND OTHER CATEGORY THAT HAS BEEN VIEWED IN THE CONTEXT OF PUBLIC TRANSIT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. RIGHT? AND WE CAN ZOOM IN AND SEE THE CORRELATIONS, IF ANY.
AND, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT ALL OF THEM THAT ARE AROUND HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE LITTLE POCKETS OF ROBBERY THAT STAND ALONE OUT HERE.
IT WAS FUNNY BECAUSE I WAS ACTUALLY GOING THROUGH HERE.
AND I NOTICED, LIKE, A WHOLE BUNCH OF ASSAULTS SEEM TO HAPPEN AT THE DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS, AND I WAS LIKE, I DIDN'T REALIZE THINGS WERE GETTING THAT BAD THERE.
RIGHT? BUT AS IT TURNS OUT, THEY USE THAT ADDRESS SOMETIMES FOR THESE REPORTS.
RIGHT? SO HENCE YOU HAVE STRONGER CORRELATION.
BUT ANYWAY, I HOPE YOU GUYS ARE OKAY.
GOOD. SO RESEARCH HAS FOUND THAT. AND I'M NOT TELLING. THERE ARE EXPERTS IN THIS ROOM AND ON THE ZOOM CALL THAT HAVE YEARS MORE OF EXPERIENCE IN THIS THING. SO I REALIZE RIGHT HERE I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR, BUT YOU CAN SEE AND SCHOLARLY RESEARCH, I MEAN, IT'S WELL DOCUMENTED, YOU KNOW?
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HERE IT IS. THE LITERATURE SHOWED THAT THE MOST COMMON CAUSES FOR HOMELESSNESS WERE DRUG ABUSE, FAMILY VIOLENCE, PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS, EDUCATION LEVEL.AND THERE'S OTHER SCHOLARLY RESEARCH, LITERATURE REVIEWS THAT KIND OF ROLL ALL THIS STUFF UP.
SO IF YOU'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN THE NUMBERS OF WHERE THE SCHOLARLY RESEARCH SEEMS TO AGREE, ALL OF THAT IS OUT THERE. SO YEAH, YOU COULD ARGUE THAT SUBSTANCE ABUSE HAS A DISPROPORTIONATELY NEGATIVE EFFECT ON THOSE SUFFERING FROM HOMELESSNESS.
RIGHT? SO YOU WOULD EXPECT OUR DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT ARE PRETTY GOOD AT GOING AFTER MANUFACTURING AND DELIVERING OF THESE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES. RIGHT? SO FELONIES WHERE THEY HAVE EITHER A LOT OF IT OR IT'S THE RIGHT KIND OF SUBSTANCE THAT'S BEING PEDDLED. SO I WENT AHEAD AND DIVVIED UP MANUFACTURING AND DELIVERY OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES, FELONY IS, II AND III IN A STATE JAIL FELONY.
AND THEN TAKE THE LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE AND PUT IT OUT OVER THE HEAT MAPS.
SO AGAIN, VERY LITTLE OF IT THAT IS NOT ON A DART MAJOR LINE. A LOT OF IT CONCENTRATED AROUND HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS.
SO AGAIN, I'M NOT FINDING ANY CATEGORY OF ANYONE WHO BENEFITS FROM HOMELESSNESS OR CRIME. YOU WOULD THINK THAT WOULD BE AN EASY THING FOR US ALL TO AGREE ON AND COME UP WITH A SOLUTION. THE TRENDS THAT ARE THERE, EVEN AS DEFECTIVE AS THE DATA IS, WOULD INDICATE THAT WE'RE NOT EFFECTIVELY ADDRESSING THIS.
RIGHT? AND I I DO HAVE SOME IDEAS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH WITH RESPECT TO HOW EFFECTIVELY ARE WE ADDRESSING CRIME? I THINK I HAVE A THEORY THAT CAN ANSWER THAT, AND I'M GOING TO WORK ON THAT AS A SORT OF AS A NEXT EVOLUTION OF THIS. WELL, PROFESSOR GWINN, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AS IT TURNS OUT, I CHAIR PUBLIC SAFETY AS WELL.
VERY ENLIGHTENING. WE NEVER ACTUALLY MENTIONED DART.
THE KEY ELEMENT THAT WE DID TALK ABOUT AND THAT I, YOU KNOW, AM BLOWN AWAY FROM YOUR PRESENTATION, WHICH IS IMPORTANT DATA IS REALLY THIS NEXUS BETWEEN THE 311 CALLS OF HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS AND THE UNEXPLAINED OR NATURAL DEATHS. AND VERY OFTEN THINGS WILL BE SAID AROUND THIS HORSESHOE.
AND AS WE'RE MAKING POLICY ABOUT ALLOWING PEOPLE TO REMAIN UNSHELTERED, AND I'M A BIG ADVOCATE OF REMOVING ENCAMPMENTS AGAINST PEOPLE'S WILL, BECAUSE IT'S NOT SAFE FOR THEM.
IT'S NOT GOOD FOR OUR COMMUNITY. AND TO ME, YOUR DATA IS SHOWING ONE OF THE POSSIBILITIES THAT HAPPENS, WHICH IS THAT PEOPLE ARE DYING. AND THIS IS THE NONVIOLENT DEATHS.
VIOLENT DEATHS ARE A WHOLE OTHER CATEGORY THAT YOU HAVEN'T TOUCHED ON IN HERE.
AND WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE OVERREPRESENTED THERE AS WELL.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HEAR A PERSONAL CONNECTION TO SOME OF THIS? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR STORY. SO I WANT YOU TO MEET DIANA.
SO DIANA'S MOTHER WORKED FOR ME BACK IN THE 1990S.
DIANA IS FROM BULGARIA, AND SHE GRADUATED SMU WITH A BUSINESS DEGREE.
JUST A VERY TALENTED SCHOLAR. SHE WAS ALSO INVOLVED WITH BOY SCOUTS.
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SHE WAS A SCOUTING LEADER AND HELPED WITH THE TROOP.JUST A REALLY GOOD ROLE MODEL IN 2009. OKAY, FAST FORWARD TO 2022.
AND THIS IS DIANA OUT ON THE CORNER OF CENTRAL EXPRESSWAY SERVICE ROAD AND ROYAL LANE.
HERE'S ANOTHER PICTURE OF HER. THE CONSTABLE THAT A POWER HER SAID THAT BAG WAS HER TOILET AND IT WAS FULL OF POOP WHEN THEY GOT HER. HER MOTHER AND I TRIED DESPERATELY FOR OVER A WEEK TO GET THE, I GUESS, THE MAGISTRATES AT THE DALLAS COUNTY JAIL TO A POWER TO ISSUE A WHITE WARRANT, DO SOMETHING. OKAY? BECAUSE SHE WAS DYING. WE CALLED DALLAS HOMELESS SERVICES.
THEY SAID, WELL, THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO IS GIVE HER A BOTTLE OF WATER.
AND I SUPPOSE THAT WOULD MEAN THAT SHE WOULD DIE HYDRATED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
WE FINALLY GOT AL CERCONE AFTER HER MOTHER WENT IN CRYING TO GO SEND SOMEONE TO TAKE HER AND PUT HER IN THE HOSPITAL AGAINST HER WILL. WE FOUND ACTUALLY A MEDICATION THAT WORKED ON HER.
AND SO EVERY MONTH WE TAKE HER DOWN TO GET A SHOT, AND SHE'S BEEN HANGING IN THERE.
I MEAN, SHE'S STILL ILL. BUT SHE'S IN A GROUP HOME, AND SHE'S STABLE RIGHT NOW, AND IT TOOK US HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS. SHOULD NOT DO THAT.
OKAY. IF THERE'S SOMEBODY THAT CARES ABOUT SOMEONE, THERE OUGHT TO BE A PATH TO GET THESE GUYS INTO TREATMENT BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE OUTCOME IS REALLY GOOD. OKAY. OTHER TIMES THE OUTCOME IS NOT SO GOOD.
RIGHT? AND THE PHYSICIANS TOLD US IF WE HADN'T GOTTEN TO HER WITHIN THREE DAYS, SHE WOULD HAVE DIED.
SO I DO HAVE A PERSONAL NEXUS TO THIS ALSO. SO I THINK THAT'S A GREAT EXAMPLE WHERE YOU HAVE VERY INVESTED ADVOCATES FOR A SPECIFIC PERSON. AND NOT EVERYBODY HAS A PERSON WHO'S DOING THAT FOR THEM.
AND I THINK EVERYONE WHO'S ELECTED CARES DEEPLY ABOUT THIS TOPIC.
AND WE MAY HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS ON HOW TO ADDRESS IT, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT.
WHAT YOU HAD TO GO THROUGH TO GET HELP FOR HER IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
AND SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT. WHO HAS QUESTIONS FOR PROFESSOR? COUNCIL MEMBER BAZALDUA. THANK YOU. YOUR DATA THAT YOU'RE PRESENTING, HAVE YOU TALKED AT ALL WITH HOUSING FORWARD OR OUR CONTINUUM OF CARE? NO, AS I SAY.
SO FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, THIS SEMESTER HAS BEEN RATHER CHALLENGING.
AND I REALLY HADN'T CONNECTED WITH ANYONE. I DO DATA, OKAY? AND, YOU KNOW, THE SOLUTIONS. I MEAN, I HAVE SOME IDEAS FOR SOLUTIONS.
I MEAN. YOU ANSWERED MY QUESTION. SORRY. AND I APPRECIATE THAT YOU DO DATA.
I JUST PREFER DATA TO BE PRESENTED WITH LESS SUBJECTIVE LANGUAGE.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE YOU HAD A LOT OF THEORY BEHIND WHAT YOUR DATA POINTS TO, INSTEAD OF REALLY THAT BEING OUR ROLE TO FIGURE OUT. I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THOUGH FROM SARAH, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
I JUST WOULD LIKE. I THINK IT'D BE MORE APPROPRIATE AND WELL-ROUNDED FOR US TO HAVE YOU WEIGH IN ON YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF THIS DATA THAT'S BEING PRESENTED TO US. AND IN MY OPINION, THAT IS BEING PRESENTED IN A VERY SUBJECTIVE WAY.
HAVE YOU CONSULTED WITH DART AT ALL AS WELL? AND I'M CURIOUS WHY DART WOULDN'T HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TO DISCUSS THESE THEORIES AS WELL. YEAH. THE DATA IS WHAT.
[00:40:04]
AUDIENCE. YOUR TIME IS NOW ENDED. MY TIME HAS NOW ENDED? THAT'S RIGHT. YOUR TIME IS ENDED. MADAM CHAIR.THANK YOU. CAN I ASK A. MADAM CHAIR? YES. I'LL CHALLENGE THE RULING OF THE CHAIR.
SO. I'VE CHALLENGED THE RULING OF THE CHAIR AND THERE HAS BEEN A SECOND.
YOU'RE NOT RECOGNIZED. I HAVE CHALLENGED THE RULING OF THE CHAIR, AND THERE HAS BEEN A SECOND.
THAT GOES TO A VOTE. THAT'S WHAT ROBERT'S RULES ARE, MADAM CHAIR.
AM I REQUIRED TO CALL FOR THE VOTE? I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SEEING IS SOME INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION. I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN.
YEAH. HANNAH PEACOCK, ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY.
WELL, AT THIS TIME, I WOULD LIKE TO END THIS BRIEFING.
AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
SO I'M HAPPY TO CONNECT YOU. YOU CAN ASK YOUR QUESTIONS TO THEM OFFLINE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. OKAY. OBVIOUSLY, YOU HAD VERY POWERFUL DATA.
I HAVE NOT CALLED FOR A RECESS OF THE MEETING.
THE TIME IS NOW 10:06, AND THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.