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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Dallas Police Department and its chief, David |
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O. Brown, have demonstrated a remarkable commitment to community |
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engagement and outreach in recent years; and |
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WHEREAS, A Dallas native, David Brown is the 28th chief of the |
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Dallas Police Department since its inception in 1881; over the |
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course of his exemplary 31-year tenure as a Dallas police officer, |
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he has risen through the ranks to command the sixth largest police |
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force in the nation, overseeing more than 4,000 employees and an |
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annual budget of $426 million; for 11 consecutive years, Dallas has |
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experienced an overall reduction in crime, and in 2014, the city |
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boasted the lowest murder rate since the 1930s and the second lowest |
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murder rate on record; and |
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WHEREAS, Community policing is considered to be an important |
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strategy for reducing crime, and the Dallas PD has instituted a wide |
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range of outreach programs; among those initiatives are the |
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family-friendly "Chief on the Beat" events, which provide the |
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public an opportunity to meet officers and to participate in |
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raffles, health screenings, and other entertaining activities; the |
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public is also invited to meet with officers at the informal "Coffee |
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With Cops" events, which are held every quarter in each of the |
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city's seven patrol divisions; and |
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WHEREAS, The department's youth programs have resulted in |
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nearly 150,000 positive interactions with the city's youth; these |
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programs include the Police Athletic League, which helps build |
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trust between police officers and young people through their joint |
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participation in educational, athletic, and recreational |
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activities, and the "Blue in the School" partnership between the |
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department, the Dallas Independent School District, and Verizon; in |
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addition, the Junior Police Academy is a daylong training session |
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designed to help students make positive life choices, and the |
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Police Explorer Program provides the opportunity for interested |
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young people to learn about careers in law enforcement; and |
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WHEREAS, The Dallas PD has also been actively engaged in |
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social media, and during the past year it has received more than |
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50,000 "likes" on Facebook and attracted over 45,000 followers to |
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its Twitter feed; since February 2014, the department's blog, DPD |
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Beat, has received nearly 700,000 views with its informative posts |
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about missing persons, cold case investigations, human interest |
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stories, and award-winning officers; and |
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WHEREAS, These innovative and cutting-edge efforts by Chief |
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Brown and the Dallas Police Department have helped to build |
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stronger bonds between police officers and the public they serve, |
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and they are indeed deserving of special recognition; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commend Chief David O. Brown and the Dallas |
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Police Department for their community policing and outreach efforts |
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and extend to all the members of the department sincere best wishes |
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for continued success with their essential work; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Chief Brown and the department as an expression of high |
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regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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Davis of Dallas |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 3457 was adopted by the House on May |
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31, 2015, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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