We Asked The Officers…

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU HEAR GUNSHOTS?
Many of our neighbors have complained about gunshots in North Oak Cliff neighborhoods. The DPD asks residents to report whenever they hear shots. Reasons to report include:

• if enough reports are made, the calls get elevated in response priority.
• the locations of callers reporting a gunfire incident are used by the DPD determine the location of the discharge.
• the DPD assigns additional officer patrol to the area where shots have been reported.
• After you have reported gunfire to the DPD, call or text the NOCUPP officer on duty. The NOCUPP officer will perform supplemental patrol in your area.
• The patrol officers inhibit additional weapons discharge, while they search for both victims and property damage

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WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO GET AN OFFICER RESPONSE TO A CALL?
DPD uses a priority system for response to calls. A call involving an ongoing assault of a person would be assigned the highest priority. A call about an abandoned car would be assigned a lower priority and worked when higher priority calls have been cleared. If you have an issue that needs a police response, it is important to covey to the dispatcher the reason why the call should be a priority. A call that a person is walking in an alley would be assigned a lower priority than a call that there is a person who is behaving suspiciously in the alley (walking the alleys and looking over fences in an area where there have been recent break-ins).