The Dallas Police Department makes national news for its crackdown on a gay bathhouse

The Dallas Police Department has officially made national news for its raid 10 days ago of The Club Dallas, the gay bathhouse in Deep Ellum, which resulted in 11 arrests on charges including public lewdness and indecent exposure.

Towleroad, Queerty and Joe.My.God., which could easily be called “the big three” of national gay news blogs, have all posted items about the raid. Their posts are for the most part straightforward, but Joe Jervis at Joe.My.God. raises a good question: “Interesting that this took place weeks before an election, eh?”

Instant Tea has long heard that these types of vice operations tend to occur shortly before elections, but we’re still not quite sure why. Presumably the incumbents want to show that they’re tough on crime and extra-tough on sex-related offenses. But city elections aren’t until May. Do you mean to tell us that this raid was designed to help Gov. Rick Perry?

Here’s another good question to ask now that the story has made national news: Does publicity about the raid help or hurt Dallas? Discuss.

UPDATE: Not sure why it didn’t occur to us before, but of course the Dallas County district attorney is up for re-election in November. Is it at all possible that Craig Watkins was behind this raid?

5 Comments

Carl Smith on October 18, 2010 at 12:03 pm

I’m sure it hurts Dallas, as we all know the Dallas bathhouses are well known destination spots. Seriously, I doubt many people outside of the patrons of the bathhouses care what happens there. My opinion, it won’t matter to the general public at all and most of the general public doesn’t even know about the raids.

Jon Lee Hart on October 18, 2010 at 12:22 pm

What bothers me is that it seems like every week someone is violently robbed in Oak Lawn…so rather than trying to make the neighborhood more safe they raid a bath house.

Jason M on October 18, 2010 at 12:33 pm

The issue here is that the raid took place while there are more violent crimes being committed in the main gay district, but here appears to be little or no DPD presence during these events. If DPD was keeping the gayborhood safe at the same time as performing this vice operation there would not be as big of an issue. Instead two guys got beaten pretty severly while 11 guys got arrested at a bath house. The person doing the beating is still at large and there is no real ideas of how did it.

James Simmons on October 18, 2010 at 12:55 pm

The DPD is inept. They are not able to solve serious crimes, or even simple crimes at times. The only way they can justify their existence is to “create” a crime, fabricate evidence to support their position and show up in court to insure a conviction. In return, they receive self-deceptive justification that their existence is worthwhile while continuing to live in their own little la-la land. If the DPD were abolished altogether, (a) crime would drop, (b) the city’s budget problem would be solved and (c) an entire force of taxpayer-supported, lawless criminals would be off the streets. The only problem is, our city leaders don’t have the guts to undertake such an experiment.

CD on October 30, 2010 at 6:46 pm

Crime in Oak Lawn has come and gone, just as increased police patrols have increased and decreased over the years. When crime serious crime and related personal injuries increase, then the DPD decides to increase patrols for the patrons of the million-dollar entertainment district (valuation AND tax revenues) perceived safety.

Obviously, some of the perpetrators perceive that gays are “easy pickings” or something? Many arrive from the neighborhoods on foot rather than in vehicles, for an additional degree of vulnerability to quick attacks, too. Street lights on the side streets of the area? What about increased use of video surveillance cameras (even some placed in the storefronts on “the strip” and the neighborhood?

Point is, as the Oak Lawn area increasingly becomes “a Dallas destination” with Illume and other re-developements, plus the northward movement of Uptown toward Love Field, this is an area which DPD needs to be paying more attention to–period–regardlessof what choce of bed partners the residents and citizens AND patrons of that area might have. The Oak Lawn corridor will need to be on DPD’s regular patrol routes rather than otherwise.

Carl Smith on October 18, 2010 at 12:03 pm

I’m sure it hurts Dallas, as we all know the Dallas bathhouses are well known destination spots. Seriously, I doubt many people outside of the patrons of the bathhouses care what happens there. My opinion, it won’t matter to the general public at all and most of the general public doesn’t even know about the raids.
Jon Lee Hart on October 18, 2010 at 12:22 pm

What bothers me is that it seems like every week someone is violently robbed in Oak Lawn…so rather than trying to make the neighborhood more safe they raid a bath house.
Jason M on October 18, 2010 at 12:33 pm

The issue here is that the raid took place while there are more violent crimes being committed in the main gay district, but here appears to be little or no DPD presence during these events. If DPD was keeping the gayborhood safe at the same time as performing this vice operation there would not be as big of an issue. Instead two guys got beaten pretty severly while 11 guys got arrested at a bath house. The person doing the beating is still at large and there is no real ideas of how did it.
James Simmons on October 18, 2010 at 12:55 pm

The DPD is inept. They are not able to solve serious crimes, or even simple crimes at times. The only way they can justify their existence is to “create” a crime, fabricate evidence to support their position and show up in court to insure a conviction. In return, they receive self-deceptive justification that their existence is worthwhile while continuing to live in their own little la-la land. If the DPD were abolished altogether, (a) crime would drop, (b) the city’s budget problem would be solved and (c) an entire force of taxpayer-supported, lawless criminals would be off the streets. The only problem is, our city leaders don’t have the guts to undertake such an experiment.
CD on October 30, 2010 at 6:46 pm

Crime in Oak Lawn has come and gone, just as increased police patrols have increased and decreased over the years. When crime serious crime and related personal injuries increase, then the DPD decides to increase patrols for the patrons of the million-dollar entertainment district (valuation AND tax revenues) perceived safety.

Obviously, some of the perpetrators perceive that gays are “easy pickings” or something? Many arrive from the neighborhoods on foot rather than in vehicles, for an additional degree of vulnerability to quick attacks, too. Street lights on the side streets of the area? What about increased use of video surveillance cameras (even some placed in the storefronts on “the strip” and the neighborhood?

Point is, as the Oak Lawn area increasingly becomes “a Dallas destination” with Illume and other re-developements, plus the northward movement of Uptown toward Love Field, this is an area which DPD needs to be paying more attention to–period–regardlessof what choce of bed partners the residents and citizens AND patrons of that area might have. The Oak Lawn corridor will need to be on DPD’s regular patrol routes rather than otherwise.