Dallas police taking steps to remove information from public view

Dallas has quietly removed parts of police reports housed online and advised other changes to reporting crime data that has historically been easily accessible to the public. 

A Friday memo to city officials and the public safety committee confirmed that the public would no longer be able to search for information like complainant names, including victims of homicides, according to The Dallas Morning News.

The memo also recommended changes to the Open Data portal in Dallas that would allow police to push back the timeline for reporting the whereabouts of officers responding to crimes in addition to redacting information on offense reports, the Morning News reported.

The changes were intended to protect sensitive information about victims and officers, and Dallas police Chief Eddie García offered his full support for the changes on Friday, per the Morning News.

However, the move prompted transparency-related concerns as information available to the public dwindles, especially as records available through the city’s Open Data portal are already partial.

The Morning News reported that a search for homicide cases in 2021 had 87 results despite statistics from the police that indicated 200 cases of murder, non-negligent manslaughter and justifiable homicide.

However, the Texas Public Information Act requires that basic information about an arrested person, arrest or crime be made available to the public. A 1975 court ruling from Houston Chronicle Publishing Co. vs. City of Houston defined “basic information” as what is on the first page of an offense report, such as the name, age and address of an arrested person.

The Hill has reached out to the Dallas Police Department and the city of Dallas for more information.