POLICE BLUES: ARREST RATES DOWN AS RESPONSE TIMES LENGTHEN

When Terrell Bolton became Dallas police chief in 1999, he made some
immediate changes. One was to move detectives to the street to reduce
police response times. Since that time, it seems, arrest rates have fallen
while response times have climbed.

This is not good news.

The Dallas Morning News reported this week that in 2002 only one-third of
violent crimes - traditionally the easier crimes to solve - were actually
"cleared," police language for arrests. That's slightly better than 2001,
when Dallas made arrests in only 28 percent of violent crimes reported
(compared to 39 percent in big cities overall), but let's look at 1998, the
last year of Chief Ben Click's reign. Back then, Dallas police were making
arrests in 44 percent of violent crimes, which nearly matched the 47
percent rate for big cities.

The Police Department says these figures fluctuate. That's true. But
nationally, arrest rates consistently are higher.

The Police Department's own objectives, listed in the city budget, include
solving 40 percent of violent crimes and answering emergency calls within
an average of eight minutes. While the crime-solving function has suffered,
emergency response times also are hurting. Back in 1997, police officials
said their goal was six minutes per call, and they averaged about 7.5
minutes in 1998. By 2002, however, citywide emergency response times were
8.24 minutes.

Departments do what they can with the resources they are provided. >From
1990 to 2000, the number of Dallas police employees per 100,000 residents
declined 13 percent. Some large cities have more police officers and
employees for their population, and some have less.

So is Chief Bolton doing a good job?

The numbers don't look good. But they shouldn't be viewed in isolation.
Other factors are disturbing. News this week about how police seem to
search Hispanics and blacks much more than whites during traffic stops
isn't good. The FBI is investigating the department's fake drugs scandal.
Performance appraisals scheduled in January for city managers and
department heads haven't yet been done. And the City Council's public
safety committee has recommended an outside consultant study making police
and fire forces more efficient.

Here's a suggestion. Skip the outside studies. Institute a regular system
of internal management controls and appraisals. And seriously assess the
police chief's performance sooner rather than later.

Traffic stop figures suggest racial profiling

Dallas Police Department this week released statistics that raise concerns
about the department and its officers.

Dallas police officers were required to collect data on traffic stops last
year that resulted in citations or arrests to comply with a new state law
that prohibits police from using race or ethnicity in deciding who gets
stopped, searched or arrested. The headline this week? During traffic
stops, with regard to both consensual and nonconsensual searches, blacks
are more likely than whites to be searched, and Hispanics are searched at a
higher rate than either non-Hispanic whites or blacks. For whites, one in
28 people stopped was searched. For blacks, it was one in 15. For
Hispanics, it was one in nine.

Police Chief Terrell Bolton says it's "premature" to call this racial
profiling, and he points out that whites still account for the largest
percentage of stopped motorists. In 2002, 45.8 percent of stops were of
white drivers.

But doesn't that help build the case that this is racial profiling? Think
about it. Non-Hispanic whites make up the largest segment of those stopped,
yet those most likely to be searched are black and Hispanic.

Whatever it is, it must end. The Dallas Police Department should institute
and enforce a "zero tolerance" policy on racial profiling. It also should
hold community workshops to inform people of their rights, including the
right to refuse a search and to file complaints with the police internal
affairs division. And officers should be required to have more training in
racial, ethnic and cultural sensitivity.

Racial profiling is not acceptable. It has no place in Dallas. Those who
live and do business in this city have rights, and among them is the right
not to be singled out because of race or ethnicity.