The DMN Shows Its Stuff With Crime Story

This, by the way, is why you need strong newspaper that’s fully staffed. Steve Thompson and Tanya Eiserer did a great job of explaining one reason Dallas’ crime stats have improved: because the way we report crimes has changed. And, as Thompson and Eiserer show, Dallas is violating federal guidelines in how it reports crimes. This sort of reporting is arduous — and important. They dug through mounds of data, they interviewed experts and elected officials and rank-and-file cops. Hell, they called 25 police departments across the country to see if Dallas is gaming the system. Citizen journalists aren’t going to do this sort of work. Kudos to the DMN.