Duncanville Parks and Recreation and Emergency Services will open the Duncanville Fieldhouse for a 2nd day Monday, February 22, 2021, from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM for those impacted by the winter storm still without water utilities. People can visit the Duncanville Fieldhouse at 1700 S. Main St., Duncanville, Texas 75137 during these hours to use showers and collect water. Visitors are asked to please, bring their own water containers and toiletries.
(more…)Police
Duncanville Fieldhouse Opens Shower and Water Facilities for Those Still Without Utilities
Duncanville Parks and Recreation and Emergency Services will open the Duncanville Fieldhouse today from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM for those impacted by the winter storm still without water utilities. People can visit the Duncanville Fieldhouse at 1700 S. Main St., Duncanville, Texas 75137 during these hours to use showers and collect water. Visitors are asked to please, bring their own water containers and toiletries.
A plan is in place for use of the showers. Shower suites will be assigned after check-in to families and individuals. Reservations are available by calling 972-331-8868.
Three water bibs will be made available outside the Duncanville Fieldhouse for drive-up water fills. Those who choose to use this option are asked to provide their own water containers.
Visitors are asked to follow the CDC’s mask and social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
DUNCANVILLE POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED – DEPARTMENT TAKES SWIFT ACTION
Duncanville, TX (January 5, 2021) – In mid-December 2020, serious allegations of police misconduct by a Duncanville Police Officer was brought to the attention of Duncanville Police Administration by other members of its own police department. The police officer in question was immediately placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into the allegations, which involved alleged misconduct while on duty. Due to the nature of the allegations and to promote transparency, Duncanville Police Administration requested the Dallas Sheriff’s Department conduct a criminal investigation for any potential criminal activity. The Dallas Sheriff’s Department agreed to investigate this matter, and today two-year Duncanville Police Officer, Christian Pinilla, was arrested on three counts of Official Oppression, a Class A misdemeanor of Texas Penal Code, Section 39.03.
(more…)DUNCANVILLE POLICE IMPLEMENT CRIME AWARENESS FOR CITIZENS
Duncanville residents will now be able to utilize a crime mapping tool to be more informed about reported crime within the City of Duncanville. This tool, CrimeMapping.com, interfaces with the Duncanville Police Department’s Records Management System (RMS) to map, list and chart general crime as reported. The Duncanville Police Department is excited to announce this tool to its citizens as a means to enhance their ability to access general crime data efficiently. Although this tool is anticipated to allow for more information-sharing about generalized crime to our citizens, it does not provide sensitive information about each reported crime due to victims’ privacy issues as well as issues pertaining to investigation integrity.
CrimeMapping.com can be accessed from any computer or mobile device either directly at www.CrimeMapping.com, or via a link on the City of Duncanville’s website. The desired data of each individual, based on his/her parameters, includes sharp map visuals and icons which clearly depict reported crimes in areas of interest (work, home, schools or daycare facilities).
The www.CrimeMapping.com website also allows users the ability to set individualized crime alerts around specific addresses by setting up automatic notifications pertinent to the area and/or reported crime(s) selected. A short instructional video, which can be found towards the bottom of the homepage at www.CrimeMapping.com, provides a detailed overview of the site’s features.
The Top COVID-19 Scams
Scammers follow the headlines
Source: The Senior Source
Robocalls – HANG UP!
Scammers or scammy companies use illegal robocalls to profit from Coronavirus-related fears – posing as the IRS or Medicare. Visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website to hear scam calls: ftc.gov/coronavirus.
Testing Scam
Scammers are calling or knocking on doors in white lab coats or hazmat gear claiming to be with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention selling fake at-home Coronavirus tests.
Treatment Scam
Scammers are calling or knocking on doors in white lab coats or hazmat gear claiming to be with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention selling fake cures, vaccines, and medical advice on unproven treatments.
Supply Scam
Scammers are creating fake shops, websites, social media accounts, and email addresses to sell medical supplies in high demand, like surgical masks. When you try to purchase supplies, they pocket the money.
Provider Scam
Scammers are contacting people by phone and email, pretending to be doctors and hospitals that have treated a friend or family member for COVID-19 and demanding payment.
Charity Scam
Scammers are soliciting donations for individuals, groups, and areas impacted by coronavirus.
Phishing Scam
Scammers are sending emails posing as health officials, including the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They want to trick you into downloading malware or providing personal identification and financial information.
App Scam
Scammers are creating and controlling mobile apps used to track the spread of COVID-19. If used, these apps insert malware on your device that steals your personal and financial information.
Compassion & Romance Scams
Scammers will use this opportunity to prey on your vulnerability while you are contained and isolated to your home, developing a friendship or romantic relationship with you to gain your trust and obtain your personal and financial information.
For additional information and updates from the City of Duncanville visit:
duncanville.com/covid-19/
U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain Warns about Fraud Related to the Coronavirus Crisis and Provides Tips to the Public
U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain warned the public today about the growing number and variety of fraud schemes associated with the coronavirus. He offered guidance to help prevent the public from being victimized by these frauds.
“Over the past few weeks, there has been a significant number of frauds committed across the country related to the coronavirus pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The fact that criminals seek to exploit the pandemic by preying on the worries and fears of the public in this difficult time is despicable. My Office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to protect the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. We will leave no stone unturned to find these criminals and bring them to justice.”
Below are some of the known fraudulent schemes related to the coronavirus pandemic:
- Fake cures: Fraudsters are advertising fake cures, fake vaccines, and so-called “immunity” pills, and including wild claims about the products’ healing powers with no scientific or medical basis.
- Fake testing: Fraudsters are selling fake at-home testing kits or going door-to-door performing fraudulent tests in exchange for money.
- Health care frauds: Fraudsters are offering free (and phony) coronavirus testing to obtain Medicare or other healthcare insurance information, which they use to submit false claims for benefits.
- Fake protection and supplies: Fraudsters are advertising fake or un-tested protective equipment (including respirator masks) through websites, social media, and robocalls. The fraudsters have no real equipment to sell, or provide equipment that has not been proven to work for its advertised purpose.
- Phishing: Fraudsters are posing as representatives from well-known institutions, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in order to trick victims into downloading malware or providing personal identifying and financial information.
- Fake health care providers: Fraudsters pose as doctors or hospital employees and contact individuals via phone or email. They make false claims that they treated a relative or friend for coronavirus and demand money for the claimed treatment.
- Identity theft: Fraudsters are using social media to fraudulently seek donations or provide stimulus funds if the victim provides a bank account number or other personal identifying information. The fraudsters use the information entered by the victim to impersonate the victim and steal money from the victim’s bank account.
- Securities fraud: Fraudsters are promoting securities in publicly traded companies that they falsely claim have discovered the cure for coronavirus.
- Fake charities: Fraudsters are soliciting donations for charities to allegedly benefit people affected by the virus and pocketing the money for themselves.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office urges everyone to follow these tips to better protect themselves from these types of fraud schemes:
- Ignore unsolicited offers for coronavirus cures, vaccines, pills, or treatment. If there is a medical breakthrough, you will not hear about it first through an email, advertisement, or door-to-door sales pitch. Be aware that fraudsters often use addresses that differ only slightly from the entities that they are impersonating, such as “cdc.com” or “cdc.org” instead of “cdc.gov.”
- Do not share personal information with strangers. Be extremely cautious about unsolicited emails or ads that request your personal information for any purpose. Legitimate healthcare providers will not call or email you and demand medical information, personal identifying information, or money for treatment they have provided to a friend or relative. Report the contact to law enforcement.
- Do not open emails or links from unknown sources. In doing so, you could download malware or a virus onto your computer or device.
- Be extremely cautious when sending money in any form. If a business, charity, or individual is requesting payments or donations in cash, by wire transfer, gift card, or through the mail, be careful. Take extra steps to verify the identity of the receiving party and the security of the transaction.
- Have up-to-date software protections on your devices. Be sure the anti-virus and anti-malware software on your computer or device is operating and up-to-date.
If you or someone you know has been the target or victim of a fraud scheme related to the coronavirus, please report the incident to the national hotline at The National Center for Disaster Fraud at 1-866-720-5721 or at disaster@leo.gov
For additional information and updates from the City of Duncanville visit:
duncanville.com/covid-19/
2019 Novel Coronavirus: Duncanville Preparedness & Response
March 16, 2020
Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) reported five additional positive cases of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Dallas County. Local public laboratories are no longer required to send “presumptive positive” samples to the CDC for confirmation. Respiratory samples positive for COVID-19 in a public health laboratory will be considered “positive” with no need for further testing.
The five cases include:
- One man in his 40’s, one man in his 50’s, one woman in her 50’s, one man in his 60’s, one man in his 70’s
- All are self-isolating at residences and are not hospitalized
- Three cases are residents of the city of Dallas, one is a resident of the city of Farmers Branch, and one resides out-of-state
- 4 cases are related to domestic out-of-state travel
- 1 case is likely from local community spread
Dallas County will not release further information to protect their privacy.
“Significantly, there’s another likely case of community spread among the five cases we are reporting today. I am in consultation with the mayors of the cities in Dallas County and our state and federal partners. We will be announcing additional measures to keep you safe soon,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
Dallas County has now reported 19 presumptive positive cases, however, four of those cases are out of county residents and will not be reflected in our case counts posted on the DCHHS website.
March 14, 2020
March 13, 2020
Dallas County Health and Human Services has reported five (5) additional presumptive COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases in Dallas County to eight (8). Last night, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins declared a local disaster for public health emergency and has issued a community gathering order effective today at 11 am. Judge Jenkins has requested that the mayors in Dallas County cities issue a local declaration in support of the county’s efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. To that end, Mayor Gordon issued an order mirroring the Dallas County order this morning, as allowed by state law.
ORDER OF COUNTY JUDGE CLAY JENKINS (SUMMARY)
DATE ORDER ISSUED: March 12, 2020
The virus that causes 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is easily transmitted through person to person contact, especially in group settings, and it is essential that the spread of the virus be slowed to protect the ability of public and private health care providers to handle the influx of new patients and safeguard public health and safety. Because of the risk of the rapid spread of the virus, and the need to protect the most vulnerable members of the community, the Dallas County order prohibits community gatherings of 500 persons or more anywhere in Dallas County beginning at 11 a.m. on March 13, 2020, and continuing seven days through 11:00 a.m. on March 20, 2020. For all other gatherings, the Office of the Dallas County Judge and the Health Authority strongly recommends following the social distancing protocols attached to this Order, including canceling, rescheduling, or not attending events with more than 250 persons. Additionally, the Office of the Dallas County Judge and the Health Authority strongly urges high-risk individuals, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to cancel, reschedule, or not attend events that will have or will likely have 10 or more people.
Duncanville Facilities and Community Events, Programs & Classes Impacted
In order to protect the health and welfare of our employees and residents, the City of Duncanville has made the following immediate modifications in order to address the growing health concerns:
- The D.L. Hopkins Jr., Senior Center will be closed starting Monday, March 16 through the end of March, which is subject to change based on the evolving COVID-19 situation.
- Recreation Center and Library operations will continue as usual, and classes and programs are being evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
- All senior activities are canceled until further notice.
- The Recreation Center’s ‘Princess Tea Party’ event scheduled for March 28 has been postponed.
- The Library’s ‘Touch A Truck’ event on March 18 has been canceled.
- Large events occurring in the near future at the Fieldhouse will be canceled based on the Dallas County declaration of Local Disaster for Public Health Emergency threshold for community gatherings.
Duncanville ISD’s Spring Break is next week, and the school district has extended Spring Break by one week and canceled all extracurricular activities starting Friday, March 13.
The Duncanville Chamber of Commerce has postponed the ‘Flavor of Duncanville’ event that was scheduled for Thursday, March 19 and have not announced a new date at this time.
March 12, 2020
The health, safety and well-being of our community and employees is of paramount concern, and the city continues to monitor the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) activity and is prepared to respond appropriately if Duncanville is impacted.
Dallas County Health and Human Services is the lead agency responsible for providing information and guidance regarding COVID-19 to the City of Duncanville. The Duncanville Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management are actively engaged with daily calls and communication with DCHHS and other partners to ensure Duncanville has the latest updates and information regarding the evolving public health threat.
The city is taking precautions to help mitigate the spread of germs at public facilities.
If possible, we encourage residents to use online tools and other resources for self-service needs. For example, residents can report an issue through the ‘Report A Concern’ button at the bottom of the homepage, and pay utility bills online at https://duncanville.dpnetbill.com or by phone: 844-608-6680. For general questions or concerns, please call City Hall at 972-780-5000 or peruse the city website. Follow the city on Facebook and Twitter for the latest new and information updates.
City facilities in Duncanville have enhanced cleaning and sanitizing efforts through the COVID-19 public threat period, including Duncanville City Hall, Duncanville Public Library, Duncanville Recreation Center, D.L. Hopkins Jr., Senior Center, Duncanville Fieldhouse and public restrooms at City parks.
Disinfection activities at facilities includes:
- Increasing the cleaning and disinfection efforts in all city facilities
- Disinfecting communal equipment multiple times a day
- Re-filling soap and antibacterial dispensers daily
- Posting the DCHHS 2019 Novel Coronavirus FAQ document in English and Spanish at the entrance to all city buildings and in public restrooms
- City employees have been asked to assist with regular disinfection of workstations and public areas
- Public restrooms at parks are cleaned and sanitized appropriately
For more information regarding COVID-10, please visit DCHHS: https://www.dallascounty.org/departments/dchhs/2019-novel-coronavirus.php or CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
CANCELED – Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training Opportunity: March 28 & April 4
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) regional task force is conducting spring 2020 training for any resident interested in joining CERT.
| What: | Best Southwest CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Training |
| When: | Saturday, March 28 and Saturday, April 4 |
| Time: | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm both days |
| Where: | DeSoto Fire Training Center, 501 E Wintergreen Rd., DeSoto, TX 75115 |
| Cost: | $20 for the manual, t-shirt and a hat |
| Register online: | https://forms.gle/VJUFib5rHRCVDTGv6 |
| Questions: | Contact Pat Weaver at 214-797-6026 |
Students will learn:
Disaster Preparation
CERT Organization
Medical Part 1
Medical Part 2
Search and Rescue
Fire Safety
Psychology
Terrorism
Unit Review and Simulation of the program
The 2-day course will teach citizens how to be better prepared to respond to, and cope with, the aftermath of a disaster. Additionally, if a community wants to supplement its response capability after a disaster, civilians can be recruited and trained as neighborhood, business, and government teams that, in essence, will be auxiliary responders. These groups can provide immediate assistance to victims in their area, organize spontaneous volunteers who have not had the training, and collect disaster intelligence that will assist professional responders with prioritization and allocation of resources following a disaster. Since 1993 when this training was made available nationally by FEMA, communities in 28 States and Puerto Rico have conducted CERT training.
CERT is a public safety corporation with the purpose of, in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, aiding the citizenry of the Best Southwest regional cities of Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Lancaster, Midlothian, Red Oak and Maypearl as they adopt the corporation program in their community. CERT meets monthly and conducts ongoing training.
Police Department Assessing Online Crime Data Tools
The online crime reporting portal, Police 2 Citizen (P2C), is no longer available due to a change in reporting and dispatch software. The Duncanville Police Department has been exploring other online crime data and reporting solutions that would integrate with the new software to provide a citizen portal that is user-friendly and informative. In the meantime, please visit the ‘Reports & Statistics’ web page for weekly, monthly and annual crime reports: www.duncanville.com/departments/police/reports-statistics/
The Duncanville Police Department, and its regional law enforcement partners, transitioned to a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS) public safety software system in January 2020. Working collaboratively, the Southwest Regional Communications Center, and the Police and Fire departments of Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville made a joint decision to utilize a new software system for regional dispatch and records management. Transitioning to a new CAD/RMS is a keystone project for first responders, and the top priority was to ensure that 9-1-1 calls for service are generated promptly and accurately so that first responders can respond in a timely and safe manner. The new software suite is a robust and complex system, and implementation of the various modules is prioritized based on operational needs.
Novel Coronavirus: Public Awareness Regarding the Respiratory Illness
A new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was recently detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China and is causing an outbreak of respiratory illness. The 2019-nCoV outbreak began in December 2019, and Chinese health officials have reported hundreds of 2019‑nCoV infections in China, including several that resulted in death. Several additional countries have identified cases of 2019-nCoV infection including the United States.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in monitoring the developing outbreak. See the CDC website for the latest developments on 2019-nCoV, including current case counts: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
French
German
Italian
Russian
Spanish