ARRESTS TOP 450 IN SWEEP

Warrant drive targets lower-level criminals

More than 450 people wanted on outstanding criminal warrants were arrested
by Dallas police and sheriff's deputies during a recent three-week
initiative geared toward sending repeat offenders to jail and holding the
line on lower-level crimes, officials said. About 80 officers and deputies
joined forces from June 21 to July 12, heading out before dawn each day with
a list of wanted criminals.

The idea was to nab repeat offenders who committed such crimes as burglary,
robbery and theft. "In many cases, those individuals are still out there
committing these light crimes," Assistant Dallas Police Chief Greg Holliday
said. "There is a need to stop that." The task force made 454 arrests and
cleared 700 warrants, Chief Holliday said. Nearly all of the warrants had
been issued by Dallas police.

Police reported a significant increase last year in the rate of business
robberies, auto burglaries and thefts.

Although recent police figures indicated a slight decrease in overall crime
for the first six months of 2000, some categories of nonviolent crime
continued an upward trend. Burglaries, for example, increased by 7.6 percent
over the same period a year ago. Officials say they hope getting some
small-time crooks off the streets stems the tide. "We're trying different
things and different approaches on a continual basis to make the city
safer," Chief Holliday said. Officials said the initiative, planned several
months ago, also allowed the Police Department and sheriff's office to pool
resources. "It worked out very well," sheriff's Chief Deputy Danny Chandler
said. "We had cooperation, not duplication." Although the initiative focused
mainly on lesser crimes, it also resulted in the arrests of three killers,
seven rapists and five child-molesters. Some of those arrested, including
the three men charged with murder, had violated probation or parole, said
Lt. Ron Waldrop, a spokesman for the Dallas Police Department. Among those
captured was Charles Bernard Taylor, 50, who was sentenced to 10 years'
probation for the 1991 murder of Jerrell Bell. Mr. Taylor shot Mr. Bell, 34,
during an argument over a woman in the courtyard of an apartment complex in
the 8300 block of Meadow Road, according to reports.

Mr. Taylor had violated probation by testing positive for drugs and
assaulting someone, said Jeff Eubanks, a supervisor at the Dallas County
Community Supervision and Corrections Department. Since his arrest during
the initiative, Mr. Taylor has been held without bond at the Lew Sterrett
Justice Center. Probation officers are recommending that he be sentenced to
12 years in prison, Mr. Eubanks said. Most of the officers involved in the
initiative work in the Police Department's deployment division and the
tactical unit. About 30 sheriff's deputies took part. At times, officials
said, the work was frustrating. Burglars, car thieves and drug addicts don't
usually stay in one place for very long.

Investigators searched a list of outstanding warrants for repeat offenders
and found their last known addresses before hitting the streets. "We used
some new technology and learned how to find fresh trails on cold warrants,"
Chief Chandler said.

More than 450 people were arrested and about 700 warrants cleared, officials
said.

A look at some of the crimes involved:

Drug offenses--113
Theft--68
Assault--32
Burglary--24
Aggravated assault--14
Aggravated robbery--13
Burglary of a motor vehicle--7
Aggravated sexual assault-- 7
Indecency with a child-- 5