The truth about Fort Worth and crime, beyond Chris Wallace’s debate question to Trump

Fort Worth keeps finding its way into the national debate over crime and policing.

In July, there was the city election to extend a crime-control sales tax, the first major vote on police funding since George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis officer sparked protests and battles over how to remake American policing.

Then, after the voters overwhelmingly approved the tax for another decade, Gov. Greg Abbott made Fort Worth the centerpiece of his threat to punish other cities that reduce law-enforcement funding.

Now, a brief moment in Tuesday’s raucous presidential debate has us at the center of a partisan question: Are cities run by Democrats seeing waves of murder that Republican-led cities aren’t?

Not really. But the situation here, at least, calls for much more nuance than moderator Chris Wallace’s question indicated.

Homicides and aggravated assaults have risen sharply in Fort Worth in 2020, compared to 2019, as they have in other large cities, regardless of who’s in charge. Some other violent crimes are down, according to figures released Wednesday by the city, but there are disturbing increases in domestic violence.

Some property crimes are up, but Fort Worth has avoided the kind of violence and destruction that cities such as Portland and Seattle have seen stemming from extensive protests. As Mayor Betsy Price told us Wednesday: “To lump Fort Worth in with cities like Chicago or potentially Baltimore or even some of our Texas cities just isn’t right.”

Homicide increases are always troubling, as the mayor stressed. And the trend has been bad for a few years. It’s crucial for the city and police leadership to act while still implementing the kind of reforms needed to better deal with mental health crises and other situations that increasingly call for a different approach.

After a Fort Worth police officer killed resident Atatiana Jefferson in her own home and again after the Floyd killing, city leaders promised changes to policing, with an emphasis on the concerns of minority communities. And of course, Fort Worth has been grappling with all manner of racial disparities since the Race and Culture Task Force was appointed in 2017 to study the issues and make recommendations.

It’s hard work that takes time, and the coronavirus certainly hasn’t helped; Price said that in Fort Worth and elsewhere, ongoing stress from the pandemic and the collapse of the economy are the likeliest culprits for increased violence, especially within families.

“Crime is not a partisan issue,” she said.

And besides, the political affiliation isn’t quite right, either, these days. Most large American cities have had Democratic leadership for decades. Fort Worth is often cited as a notable exception.

Price is well-known as a Republican, but city elections here aren’t partisan. While Price, the longest-serving mayor in Fort Worth history, is influential, the city manager runs the government, answering to the entire City Council.

The city and Tarrant County do have more conservatives in local government than similar urban areas. But Democrats are making steady gains here, and the area is now largely seen as a political swing county.

President Donald Trump, whose continued focus on problems in Democratic-led cities prompted the debate question, didn’t directly address the Fort Worth angle, pivoting instead to one of his favorite punching bags, Chicago.

Still, the mention was enough to jolt Price and plenty of others. “Within two or three minutes, my phone blew up,” she said. “People are incensed and rightfully so.”

Fort Worth has work to do, and vigilance against crime is always a priority. But it’s not experiencing the kind of intense unrest seen in some cities. It’s too bad if the quickest mention in the national spotlight left a different impression.