Who You Gonna Call?

With the well-publicized assault that occurred at White Rock Lake in January, crime is on the minds of many area residents.

One of them is Carolyn Jones, who says the daylight attack on a female jogger prompted her to stop thinking and start doing something about crime in our area.

“I’ve wondered how to help, because I’m just so tired of reading every day about crime in East Dallas . After the assault happened, I called Gary Griffith, our city councilman, and asked about doing a hotline,” she says.

Jones got the go-ahead from Griffith and the Dallas Police Department to set up the White Rock Lake Public Safety Hotline.

Residents can call the hotline to both report and learn about recent criminal or suspicious activity around the lake. Jones will update it once a week, or more often if specific warnings are warranted.

A newspaper article recently tied the hotline to a “Save the Lake” group that was also formed in response to the attack, but Jones says her project was formed separately from that effort and will remain independent of crime prevention groups.

“The intent of the hotline was for it to stand alone, to serve the whole community,” she says. “It’s just a form of information, a way for people to communicate about what’s going on at the lake.”

Several community organizations have agreed to help pay for the line, including Lakewood Neighborhood Association, Shore Acres Neighborhood Association and White Rock Lake Foundation.

Jones says she hopes residents will call the hotline as part of their regular routine of using the lake.

“The important thing is getting the word out, first of all, then to get people in the habit of calling it on a regular basis,” she says. “Then people can learn about crimes they need to be aware of, and also call to report any patterns of suspicious activity.”