City leaders in policing and public services are all turning to community outreach in hopes of slowing the tide of homicides, assaults and other violent crimes.
They point to a variety of factors for the increase so far this year. At an event at Hadley Park on Saturday, Lisa McCrady of the Metropolitan Action Commission says a surge in crime can be a symptom of other struggles people may be experiencing, like poverty. The Commission has federal funding available to help residents catch up on rent, she says.
“What we want to do is take at least the impact of not being able to pay things such as your rent, your mortgage, your utilities,” McCrady says. “We want to take those stressors out of that.”
By doing so, McCrady hopes it may help lower rates of crimes that rose during the pandemic, like domestic violence or child abuse.
But that’s only one piece of the puzzle.
She says to make an impact on violent crime, city services need to band together to take a more holistic approach.
Sergeant James Freeman is a community coordinator for Metro Police. While the entire department is working on efforts to be more engaged with community members and build trust, they are also eyeing a more specific ask to help lower violent crime rates.
“Don’t leave your guns in the car,” Freeman says. “Car gets stolen, guns get stolen, crimes get committed.”
He says it is no coincidence that violent crime is up during the same year that more than 600 guns have been stolen from vehicles. The number of guns stolen from cars in 2021 is on track to surpass prior years.
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