Communities grapple with rise in violence

Epidemic of apathy
Race intrudes into any discussion of this summer’s crime wave. A recurrent theme is young black men killing other young black men.

“You look at the individuals that are dying, the individuals that are committing the crimes —there’s a large percentage of them that are young black males, many of them without an education, who dropped out of school. A number of individuals out there without hope,” said Indianapolis police Sgt. Matthew Mount.

Thirteen people were killed in Indianapolis in the first week of August — all but two of them black men. In June, seven family members, including four children, were shot in a home. The victims, all Hispanic, were killed “execution style,” police said. It was the city’s worst mass killing in 25 years. There have been nearly 100 murders in greater Indianapolis this year. Last year, that number wasn't reached until October.

“This is not normal for Indianapolis,” Mount said. “It’s something we’re addressing through increased saturation patrols and being more aggressive in looking for guns and getting them off the street.”

Indianapolis has pulled community service officers and bike cops off their normal beats. The city is spending an additional $54 million to extend officers’ shifts. The most aggressive cops have been assigned to a special “street level enforcement detail,” and others are posing as cabbies after a series of attacks outside nightclubs.

Despite an increase in arrests and new leads, Mount remains cautious.

“This is not something that the police (alone) can solve,” he said. “It falls back on the community to get much more involved with these youths that apparently are without direction.”

Searching for solutions
Communities may be getting the message. In recent weeks Indianapolis police have received more than 20 inquiries from neighborhoods wanting to start new block watch programs. In Seattle, more than 830 community groups participated in the National Night Out Against Crime on Aug. 1 — 100 more than last year, Kerlikowske said.

“People are more concerned about safety in their community than terror threats,” the veteran lawman said. “With all the focus on homeland security, there isn’t enough attention being paid to local law enforcement.”

Kerlikowske, along with other police chiefs and law-enforcement organizations, have blasted recent cuts to programs that help pay for police officers, provide training and buy equipment. Last year, Congress cut a major community policing program by 21 percent, or $127.7 million, and a Justice Department grant program by 34 percent, $217.5 million. Funding for the programs has declined by more than $1.5 billion, nearly 65 percent, since 2002.

“It’s understandable that with a war going on in Iraq and terrorism, that the country would put its resources around those issues,” said Wexler. “But our thought is that things are changing and we’ve still got 15,000 people murdered in this country every year. That’s pretty high for an industrialized country.”

Revolving doors
But the problem goes beyond funding, he said.

When the country faced a rise in violence in the early 1990s, federal and local authorities responded with a crackdown that sent thousands to prison.

“Those folks have to come back out, and they don’t have jobs,” Wexler said. “You know what they’re going to be doing.”

Many cities face additional challenges. In Houston, Wexler points to the sudden influx of evacuees after Hurricane Katrina, some of whom arrived with gang loyalties and grudges. In Las Vegas, a growing methamphetamine problem has caused an increase in robberies, assaults and murder.

In Minneapolis, where Wexler works as a consultant, the police department has in recent years lost 25 percent of its patrol force due to local, state and federal funding cuts. To curb a rise in violent crime among juveniles, the city is looking to grass-roots solutions like keeping recreation centers open longer and starting the school day later to give kids less unsupervised time before parents arrive home.

“You have to look at this in a comprehensive, multifaceted way. It doesn’t lend itself to one solution,” Wexler said. “We’re not seeing what we saw in the ’90s. ... It’s much more complicated now. But we also know what worked then, and we’re in a better position to respond faster.”

‘Enough is enough’
And while acknowledging crime is on the rise in many communities, law enforcement experts also urge perspective.

“Crime — at least on a on a per-capita basis — is at some of the lowest rates since we’ve been keeping records, but it’s still pretty high,” said Jean O'Neil, research director at the National Crime Prevention Council.

“We still have 24 million victims of crime in this country, and I’d say that’s about 23 million and change too much,” she said.

Brown agrees. The preacher, who’s seen violence claim the lives of too many, said he’s disappointed that the sermons he delivered at Crowder’s funeral and that of an 18-year-old boy murdered in June didn’t make their way past church pews:

“Enough is enough. Stop the robbing, the assaults. Stop the battery, stop the killing, stop the violence, stop the hatred. It’s time to stop,” he said.

MORE FROM CRIME & COURTS

Crime & courts Section Front

Teen gets plea deal in Facebook sex scam 2 Wash. state police shot, suspect killed   Teens plead not guilty in hate crime 'Necessity defense' in abortion killing rejected Insider theft a big problem for small charities Russia Web gang took millions from Citi: report Cops: ‘Balloon boy’ parents acted alone Despite more jobless, crime rates drop D.C. chief slams cop over gun at snowball fight Crime & courts Section Front   Add Crime & courts headlines to your news reader: