An influx of hurricane evacuees is being blamed for a crime increase in northeast Dallas

J.D. Miles:

It’s a problem Dallas police thought it had solved.

A year ago this week the police department was raving about the success of ‘Operation Kitchen Sink’, which reduced crime in the city after a string of drug related crimes and murders.

It appears that success was fleet and police say hurricane evacuees may be the reason.

Asif Kahn was working the register at ‘Doc’s Food Store’ on Abrams, just two days after being pepper sprayed by two armed robbers.

“They put a lot of spray on my eyes. And they laid down me over there. They tried to open the mouth. They put the spray in my mouth too. They almost tried to kill me that time,” Kahn said.

The 24-year-old clerk doesn't need to see statistics to know that crime is on the increase around his neighborhood.

Police attribute the 30% increase in northeast Dallas robberies to the relocation of hurricane evacuees.

“We've absorbed a lot of additional people into that part of town with the Hurricane Katrina evacuees, so we have significantly more people living in our northeast division, said David Kunkle, Dallas Police Chief.

Northeast Dallas has the highest concentration of apartments in the city.

Police say evacuees are finding new homes in some of the 28,000 units.

The crime increase comes a little more than a year after police launched ‘Operation Kitchen Sink’.

Seventy-five officers patrolled problem complexes 24 hours a day. It resulted in more than 200 arrests and a 25% drop in crime.

Chief Kunkle says the area continues to need attention. “We're dealing with a relatively few hot spots where we've had too much crime. It's a little bit like taking care of your yard. You can't let it go for a period of time without having problems.”

‘Operation Kitchen Sink’ got its name because police and apartment managers threw everything at the problem.

Kunkle says he's hoping officers from ‘Operation Disruption’ and SWAT will be enough to address the problem.

Motel evicts hurricane evacuees for vandalism

Houston eyes cameras at apartment complexes

Sex Offenders Missing After Katrina

Police: brothel in Gretna shut down