There was some blunt talk about the root causes of crime at the Near East Side Community Organization (NESCO) Crime Prevention and Code Enforcement meeting on January 6. Department of Public Safety Director Troy Riggs, along with representatives from city services were on hand to discuss the latest crime prevention initiatives with an interested crowd of east side citizens. Specifically, they presented information about the challenges facing one of the targeted areas in the NESCO neighborhood: Sherman and New York street.
The Department of Public Safety compiled crime and quality of life data from 2012 to 2014 to create this effort. Numerous non-profit and faith-based organizations, including Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), City Mosaic, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), The Polis Center, Ten Point Coalition and United Way have stepped forward to assist by sharing data, resources and expertise for the long-term improvement of the city. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and Marion County Sheriff’s Office are also partnering with the effort.
In October, the city announced six focus areas, determined by crime data in the past year. The focus areas include 16th and Tibbs, 29th and Martin Luther King, and 34th and Illinois on the west side; on the east side, 38th and Sherman, 42nd and Post, and New York and Sherman. Riggs pointed out startling statistics which contribute to a higher crime rate: lack of education (44 percent in the area do not have a high school diploma, compared to 15 percent in the city overall), high poverty rates, and significant numbers of vacant and abandoned houses. Calls for mental illness and medical services were also much higher in the area, as were calls for animal control. All the numbers add up to a troubled area that will require extra attention and services from the public and private sectors.
“This is a lot of data,” Riggs said, “but we’re talking about human beings, not numbers. We need to work together as a community to address the core problems.” He pointed out that someone living in the New York-Sherman area had a 215 percent greater chance of being murdered than in the rest of the city in 2014. “Think of our city as a family. Some in our family are hurting.”
Admitting that, in the past, IMPD “might not have been as responsive as they should have” in regards to prevention and reaction to incidents, Riggs stressed “that has changed. We realize that government and the police may not be able to fix everything, but there are some things we can. The rest is up to you, the community.”
The mayor announced in October a “Three Bucket” Approach to reducing crime and improving the quality of life in the focus area. Prevention, which includes initiatives to expand pre-school programs, holding community conversations, and helping former prisoners re-enter the community, is the first step. As the second “bucket,” he city also wants to step up protection measures, including adding officers and patrols, improving IMPD tactics, and having a full-time SWAT team. The third “bucket” is to introduce mandatory minimums, and create an Engagement Center for low-level offenses.
The key to reducing crime, Riggs noted, was to “get ahead of the problem. I’ve heard people say ‘Oh, it can’t get worse’ and I can assure you, it can and will if we don’t act.”
Last year, there were 135 murders in the city, and nine of them were committed in the New York-Sherman area. In addition, there were 53 non-fatal shootings. “You know what the difference is between a homicide and a ‘non-fatal shooting?” Riggs asked. “Where the bullet landed. The intent to kill was there. That’s very disturbing.”
Neighborhood involvement, including crime watches, are part of the solution for the focus areas, Riggs said. Citing the high rate of involvement on the east side at Task Force meetings and crime watches, he believes that things can turn around. NESCO holds a Crime Prevention and Code Enforcement meeting on the first Monday of every month, offering citizens a chance to point out problems and put solutions on the table.
