New Dallas police chief fields questions about hiring and crime strategy

In very brief, five-minute interviews with local media outlets, Chief Daniel Comeaux talked in general terms about how he aims to boost hiring and keep officers from leaving the department.

Hiring will be one of the chief's first big challenges with the city under a voter-imposed mandate to radically increase staffing, with the city aiming to hire 300 officers just this year.

So far in 2025, the department has hired about 150 new officers but about 75 others have left the force.

Meaning that for every two officers recruited, one officer leaves the department.

“I think it starts with morale, and it starts with the culture, right? So, it's going to start from the top. I'm going to lead in a way where I hope when an officer comes here, they're gonna stay,” Comeaux said in an interview with 온라인카지노사이트 5 Investigates.

Comeaux will be asked to lead a massive expansion of the ranks at a time when police departments across the country are struggling to recruit.

“Look, we're gonna think outside the box. We're looking at everything. We're looking at the qualifications, we're looking at the requirements. We're also looking at lateral transfers from other states," said Comeaux.

The chief began the day on Wednesday, greeting the city council, dressed in a Dallas police uniform and badge after his Texas peace officer's license was reactivated earlier this week.

Comeaux served as a Houston police officer more than 25 years ago, before joining the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), eventually leading the DEA’s Houston office.

When asked why he wanted to come back to local policing, he said he always wanted to return to where he started his career, and that he remembers the impact he could have as an officer, helping people solve neighborhood problems.

In Dallas, violent crime is currently down, with murders down more than 40% compared to this time last year.

Under the leadership of Chief Eddie Garcia, the department used a grid strategy, breaking the city into tiny boxes and then focusing officers on grids where the most violent crime was occurring.

Comeaux indicated he plans to stick with that approach.

"Look, it's been successful so we're going to continue doing what's already been done and what we're going to try to do is just add a little bit more to it", Comeaux said.

Comeaux declined to answer some questions Wednesday about his approach to collaborating with federal immigration authorities. He told 온라인카지노사이트 5's sister station, Telemundo 39, that the department will take care of everyone in the community equally and that he will address more specific questions once he has had a chance to get settled on the job.

Before his law enforcement career, Comeaux played college baseball and given that he is moving to Dallas from Houston, there was one more important question 온라인카지노사이트 5 asked in Wednesday's interview: "Astros or Rangers?"

“Texas. Let's go. As long as Texas wins, I'm happy,” said Comeaux.