Weekend Crackdown Curbs Crime In Deep Ellum

[TexasStooge]

DALLAS, Texas (KXAS TV) -- The Dallas Police Department's crackdown on crime in Deep Ellum fared well during the program's inaugural weekend.

Acting on the request of area business owners to decrease underage drinking and panhandling, Dallas police officers hit the streets of the east-side entertainment district in full force Saturday and Sunday, dispersing crowds and arresting several people.

Specifically, police were targeting people congregating and loitering on street corners because those groups, they said, typically comprise people younger than 21 years old.

Officer visibility in the popular nightspot was at an all time high, with officers patrolling by car, on bicycle and on foot.

However, aside from increased manpower and the use of bullhorns for crowd control, police and businesses are also using creative means to clear the streets once the nightclubs close.

"When we shut down, I tell the all the managers that as soon as 2:15 hits, you blare classical, folk, country. I don't care what it is, just something they won't want to stand around and listen to," business owner Jerleigh Thompson said.

Police arrested several young men and women and, at one point, called in a paddy wagon for assistance.

Business owners like Thompson said the heightened security and communication is just what they need in the popular entertainment spot, which has been plagued by crime in recent months.

"Working with the DPD and everybody has kind of pulled together the neighborhood. Everybody's communicating and I think just communicating down here is a huge thing," Thompson said.

Click here for slideshow of this story.