Trafficking, violence, and silence in Dallas’s most neglected corridor.
There’s a street in Dallas that most people have heard of — but very few actually understand.
Harry Hines Boulevard has always had a reputation. For years, it’s been known as a red-light corridor lined with sketchy motels, adult video stores, massage parlors, and warehouses. But what’s happening there now goes way beyond old rumors or late-night activity.
Today, Harry Hines is the clearest warning sign we have that Dallas is losing control of basic public safety.
A 13-Year-Old Girl, Trafficked and Forgotten
In April, a 13-year-old girl vanished after being dropped off at school.
Her family sounded the alarm immediately. But there was no AMBER Alert. No urgency. Days went by. And it was her own family, not the police, who tracked her down — near a homeless encampment off Harry Hines.
The girl told investigators she ended up on the streets, felt stuck, and was taken in by a 25-year-old woman who taught her how to survive by selling sex. At one point, the girl was told she wouldn’t be given shelter unless she agreed to perform sexual acts.
She’s thirteen.
Her mother told reporters, “It would’ve been different if there had been more support. From the school. From police.”
And she’s right. That child was failed at every level.
A Serial Killer, Hiding in Plain Sight
Later that same year, police arrested a man named Oscar Sanchez Garcia.
He’s now charged with murdering three women — all stabbed, all dumped in empty fields. Two of them had ties to prostitution, and all three were linked to the Harry Hines area.
The first woman’s body was found near the Trinity River. The second was last seen outside an adult bookstore on Harry Hines. The third was on the phone with a friend when she got into a truck that had been spotted in the same area days before.
Police didn’t call him a serial killer until the public started connecting the dots on social media.
This is what happens when you allow an entire corridor of the city to descend into lawlessness. Women are murdered — and no one even realizes it’s a pattern until the third body shows up.
Businesses Left to Fend for Themselves
While all of this is going on, Dallas businesses are trying to operate in the middle of it.
In May 2024, more than 70 local business owners met with Dallas police to express their frustration. Many left the meeting angry. Some said they felt like no one was listening.
One broker said he regularly sees 30 to 50 prostitutes working the Harry Hines district — not just at night, but during lunch hours.
My friend Jimmy owns Original Market Diner. He’s not even in the worst part of the street, but he’s still cleaning up used condoms and sex toys outside his restaurant.
One day, he was there with his teenage daughter — and a homeless man walked by, fully naked.
That’s what families are exposed to now. And City Hall stays silent.
The Real Reason Police Don’t Intervene
Let’s clear something up: it’s not that police don’t care. It’s that they aren’t available.
In the Harry Hines area (Northwest Division), the average response time for a Priority 3 call is over two hours. These are the very calls where prostitution complaints fall.
So when you see an officer drive right past someone clearly soliciting on the sidewalk — it’s not because they don’t notice.
It’s because they’re still trying to clear a call from earlier that day.
The department is understaffed. Badly.
It’s Not Just Harry Hines — It’s the Whole City
This problem isn’t limited to one street. The response time crisis is hitting everywhere.
- Two 10-year-old boys were hit by a car while biking on a sidewalk. Police took 4.5 hours to respond.
- A family in a mental health crisis called 911 after their teenage son said he was thinking of ending his life. It took 7 hours for police to show up.
That’s not just a delay. That’s a breakdown. And it’s not a one-off. According to city data, the average Priority 2 response time citywide is now 95 minutes — nearly an hour and a half for situations involving injury, disturbance, or danger.
We Passed Prop U — So Where’s the Change?
In 2024, Dallas voters approved Prop U. The goal was simple: hire more officers, increase patrol presence, and make Dallas safer.
But here we are, well into 2025 — and nothing has changed on Harry Hines.
Trafficking is still rampant. Businesses are still being abandoned.
And police response times are still wildly out of step with reality.
We didn’t vote for optics.
We voted for action.
What Happens When a City Stops Protecting Its People
Harry Hines is more than a sketchy street.
It’s a case study in what happens when leadership gets comfortable lying to the public about crime.
A girl was trafficked.
Three women were murdered.
Kids are getting hit by cars and waiting hours for police.
And business owners are being forced to protect their own storefronts from chaos.
This is what collapse looks like — not on the news, but on your block.
If Dallas leadership doesn’t get serious about public safety, what’s happening on Harry Hines won’t stay on Harry Hines.
It’s coming everywhere else.
