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SMU data analysis links Dallas 311 encampment reports with concentrations of unexplained deaths and some violent crimes; briefing ends early
Summary
SMU clinical professor Alan Guinn told the Housing and Homeless Solutions Committee Dec. 9 that 44,545 Dallas 311 reports of homeless encampments (10/01/2020–09/30/2025) and police incident data show geographic overlaps with unexplained/non-residential deaths and some felony assaults; the briefing was cut short after a procedural dispute and the committee adjourned.
Alan Guinn, a clinical professor of information technology and data analytics at Southern Methodist University, told the Housing and Homeless Solutions Committee on Dec. 9 that an analysis of Dallas open-data sets shows geographic concentrations of 311 reports of homeless encampments that overlap with police-recorded unexplained or non-residential deaths and with certain felony assaults.
Guinn said he pulled two primary public datasets — Dallas Police Department incident data and Dallas 311 service-request records — and used latitude/longitude coordinates to map and aggregate reports. “Data always has a story to tell,” he said during the presentation, and described a rollup method that aggregated reports within 250 meters and excluded pins with fewer than 25 reports to emphasize major concentrations.
The presentation included a cited total of 44,545 311 calls related to homeless encampments in a five-year span Guinn gave as 10/01/2020–09/30/2025 and a separate filter that produced “over 1,200” police-recorded incidents classified in non-residential…
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