- The Cedar Springs Wycliff TAAG is shown in blue. (DPD Crime Analysis Unit)
Despite the recent rash of robberies in Oak Lawn that I reported in today’s Voice, the area surrounding the gay entertainment district has actually gotten slightly safer in recent weeks — at least when compared to other dangerous areas of the city for violent crime. While working on my story about the robberies, I requested the most recent statistics from the city’s Target Action Area Grids (TAAGs), which are essentially the city’s 26 worst hotspots for violent crime. A few months ago I reported that the Cedar Springs Wycliff TAAG, which is a roughly 1-square mile area surrounding the gay strip, had seen the third-most violent crimes of any of the 26 hotspots through August, behind only Northwest Highway/Harry Hines and Five Points. As it turns out, most of the recent robberies have occurred outside the Cedar Springs Wycliff TAAG, in the area of Turtle Creek and Uptown that’s to the Southeast. And as a result, the Cedar Springs Wycliff TAAG has now fallen to No. 4 on the list, after being jumped by Forest/Audelia. However, I wouldn’t say this exactly calls for disbanding the Crime Watch group and walking home alone drunk late at night while not paying attention to your surroundings. The Cedar Springs Wycliff TAAG remains one of only two TAAGs citywide that have seen an increase in violent crime this year over last. There had been 147 violent offenses in the Cedar Springs Wycliff TAAG through Oct. 11, up from 134 in the same period last year, an increase of 13 percent. Here now are the five TAAGS with the most violent crimes so far this year, as well as a breakdown of crimes in the Cedar Spring Wycliff TAAG:
TAAG NAME: Number of violent offenses in 2009
Harry Hines/Northwest Highway: 206
Five Points: 173
Forest/Audelia: 160
Cedar Springs/Wycliff: 147
Ross/Bennett: 142
Violent offenses in the Cedar Springs Wycliff TAAG in 2009
Murders: 1
Rapes: 2
Robbery-business: 11
Robbery-individual: 107
Aggravated assault: 26
