Downtown Dallas’ October homeless count fell to 19, its fourth-lowest on record, while crime in the central business district dropped 28% year-over-year, according to a report. The decline in offenses, from 333 to 240, still leaves the area’s crime rate more than eight times higher than Fort Worth’s.
The October homeless count of 19 was recorded during a survey conducted Oct. 28, according to the report from Downtown Dallas Inc. The tally represents a decrease of three people from September’s count of 22 and a decline of 11 from the 30 recorded in October 2025. Only three previous counts have been lower: 12 on May 28 and 18 on both March 30 and Aug. 28, all earlier this year, records show.
The figure is approximately 84% below the initiative’s reported historical average of 117 and well below its February 2024 peak of 411, according to the data.
Eight of the 19 people counted, or roughly 42%, were located in two sectors adjacent to The Bridge homeless shelter, while the remaining 11 were spread across six other sectors, the report states.
The survey measures people observed during a downtown count and does not establish a citywide homeless population or track where individuals no longer present have gone, officials said. The survey team began at 10 a.m. in sunny, 70-degree weather.
Year-to-date crime totals in downtown Dallas declined 11% through October, from 2,841 offenses to 2,535, according to the city’s Crime Analytics Dashboard. October’s 240 offenses represent a 28% drop from the 333 reported in the same month last year.
Violent crimes in October declined 19%, from 21 to 17, the report shows. Robberies fell from eight to six, while aggravated assaults remained at 11. The report lists no murders in the central business district through October, compared with five during the same period last year.
Nonviolent crimes fell 24%, from 257 to 195, according to the data. Thefts from vehicles dropped from 76 to 39, and burglaries fell from 13 to six. Crimes against society, which include drug and weapons offenses, fell from 55 to 28 in October but remained 29% higher year to date, with 464 offenses compared with 360 last year.
The improvements accompany a larger downtown police presence, officials said. Downtown Dallas Inc. President and CEO Jennifer Scripps said Sept. 30 that downtown had 130 officers assigned and approved, up from numbers in the 90s a couple of years earlier.
The comparison with Fort Worth lists 29 October offenses in downtown Fort Worth, making Dallas’ 240 about 8.3 times as many, according to the report. Year-to-date totals were 2,535 in Dallas and 301 in Fort Worth. These are raw counts, not population-adjusted crime rates, the report notes.
Dallas’ comparison area covers 1.40 square miles versus Fort Worth’s 0.92, according to the data. The report excludes some offense categories and estimates Fort Worth sex-crime figures, limiting direct comparisons of safety between the two areas, officials said.
September also brought a sharp year-over-year decline in downtown Dallas crime, as The Dallas Express previously reported. The city’s Crime Analytics Dashboard serves as the source for the Dallas figures included in the monthly report.
