Kelli Smith

For months, I’ve looked into Dallas' 14 adult specialty courts for @labreportdallas—diversion programs built to help vulnerable people. Research shows if they stray from best practices, they risk doing real harm. Today, we published the investigation. 🧵

After 47 people were connected to housing or treatment, a major South Dallas homeless camp was set to close Thursday via police and city crews. Housing Forward, which led the initiative, says it didn't expect police to detain all 23 people they came across that morning. 🧵👇

For weeks I analyzed where Dallas PD allocates patrol officers and what that says about its priorities. It raised a complicated question: How do top cops manage staffing for perception vs. risk in a big city like Dallas? I tried to make sense of the data for @labreportdallas.

The stats are in, and they confirm a big trend: Dallas ended 2025 with 141 murders, a *10-year low.* To put that in perspective: 📉 43 fewer people murdered than in 2024. 📉 Dallas' 4th lowest murder count since 1995. A significant drop that has largely flown under the radar.

Dallas made No. 6 (!) on the @nytimes 52 places to go in 2026, with a note about the World Cup and the soon-to-be open Halperin Park. Plus a Fair Park shoutout. Pretty cool seeing as the NYT scans worldwide for this annual list.

This weekend I met a boy who saw his mother for the first time since he was 9 months old. A family praying for a mother’s release from prison. And a woman whose life was near collapse before she saw her daughter. For @labreportdallas, I featured the program changing their lives.

Headlines in the last month portray the city of Dallas in chaos. We've had killings outside an ICE facility, a nightclub, a shopping center, a beheading at a motel. A story not being told is Dallas is on pace for one of its lowest murder tallies in a decade. @labreportdallas

Today is my last day at @dallasnews and it's still hard to believe it snuck up so quickly. Words can't express my gratitude for DMN's chance on me when I was a breaking news fellow. I'm leaving after ~4 years covering Dallas PD, which has been an incredible opportunity.

Board member Brandon Friedman writes they’re “not done with this.” The oversight board isn’t scheduled to meet again until August. Members have already pitched calling a special meeting sooner to get answers. @dallasnews

There are more audience members today than the usual monthly oversight meetings. Board member Ozzie Smith thanks those who came out to hear the Chief’s views and is outlining the topics they’d hoped to ask about. “This is not the meeting that we had anticipated as a board.”