Arlington police fighting violent crime in the city by working with federal agencies
Arlington police are looking for ways to curb the increase of violent crimes seen in the city, as rates of those offenses rise across the nation.
Police Chief Al Jones says the department believes the key to stifling the increase in violence is in partnerships with federal government agencies and cooperation from community members.
Operation Connect, an initiative the city began April 5 and expects to see last at least through the summer, aims to cooperate with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and residents to file federal charges against violent criminals and ramp up traffic enforcement to reduce the number of road deaths in the city.
Arlington has seen 24 fatal accidents this year in which 29 people died, Jones said.
Jones said at a news conference Monday the two issues of violent crime and traffic deaths appear to be connected, and enforcing against one will ultimately see the city enforcing against the other.
Arlington has seen several high-profile shooting deaths this year, including a June 23 shooting of a teen in the parking lot of Hurricane Harbor water park. The city has also seen an increase in the amount of road rage and the number of road deaths, like a July 2 hit-and-run crash in which a driver fleeing from police is accused of killing a father of three.
Deputy Chief Kyle Dishko, commander of the initiative, said the city has made more than 380 arrests since the program began and issued thousands of traffic citations.
Police have confiscated firearms and drugs, some in traffic stops, and worked with the ATF to file charges in federal court.
Jeff Boshek, special agent in charge of the ATF Dallas Field Division, said violent criminals can be kept off the streets longer and face harsher punishments when they face federal charges instead of local ones. He said in 2021 alone, partnerships with Arlington police have led to 35 federal defendants prosecuted for crimes committed in the city.
“These are defendants that, typically, in the state system would be out on bond and back committing crimes,” Boshek said. “These defendants, these criminals, are now in federal custody. They’re going to go away somewhere that’s not in Texas most likely, away from family and friends, where they’re going to feel the utmost punishment available under federal law.”
Boshek said violent crime and illegal gun ownership rates are up all across the Dallas-Fort Worth region, and federal agents are working daily with local law enforcement to curb those rates. They aren’t waiting for local police to “bring us your best stuff,” he said. Two ATF agents are on the streets in Arlington every night helping to enforce laws.
Jones said the department has already seen results. Community members have given tips to Arlington police that led to arrests, like one where police busted an illegal gaming room and confiscated guns and weapons.
That is possible because police have recorded more than 3,100 community engagements, where officers meet with community members and inform them of Operation Connect, Dishko said.
“It’s a way for us to build positive relationships with the citizens and tell them what we’re doing in their community,” Dishko said.
They’ve done that during food drives and by handing out vehicle burglary report cards that detail information on vehicle burglaries that happened in the area. Dishko said they also talk to drivers during traffic stops and in community meetings.
Community members are given pamphlets with information on the program, Dishko said. Those pamphlets include a portion on the back where officers will write the name and contact information of the beat officer who patrols the area around those community members, the patrol beat designation and the patrol district.
Those brochures have been hung on doors, as well.
Dishko said that has helped with the more than 380 arrests police have made as part of Operation Connect. He said the arrests are “not your average, low-level offenses,” but are felonies like illegal possession of a gun, sales of narcotics and vehicle thefts.
Police have confiscated 53 guns and several illicit narcotics. They’ve recovered eight stolen vehicles and $31,000 in stolen money. Police have issued 2,800 traffic citations on 3,800 stops.
Dishko said those citations and stops are a part of attempts to “correct bad driving behavior.”
Many of the gun confiscations have turned up firearms linked to other crimes and many of the arrests have seen repeat offenders face federal charges for the first time, Dishko said.
A police spokesman said the program will continue until they’ve seen the number of violent crimes or the effectiveness of the program drop. Because crime typically rises during the summer, the spokesman said it will last at least until the end of the season.
Jones said the biggest challenge is that so many people own guns in Texas.
“We have to find a way, how do we interrupt that flow of guns, especially to get these guns out of the hands of minors,” Jones said.
Many of the violent offenses in Arlington have been committed by minors who illegally possessed guns, Jones said. He said police knew minors had guns but didn’t realize the problem was so prevalent.
The introduction of non-licensed individuals being able to carry guns, commonly called constitutional carry, will complicate enforcement of gun offenses, and the city is working on tactics to handle enforcement once that does happen, Jones said.
“We want to make sure we protect everybody that does have the right to carry, but we also want to protect our citizens, as well,” Jones said.
He added that the department is constantly looking at data and statistics to learn how to adapt the program and measure success.
“We’re constantly looking at our data to make sure that we are in the right places, doing the right things and deploying our people in the right places.”