Police hope return of in-person events could help curb some crime
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Police hope curbing crime will soon become a little easier as in-person events come back.
On Tuesday, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department will host their first Coffee With a Cop meeting since February of last year. This event comes as the city struggles to stop a record-breaking number of homicides. There were no homicides in Indianapolis over the weekend.
However, as Reverend Charles Harrison with the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition pointed out in a tweet, several people were still shot and stabbed, a problem police say they’re trying their best to handle.
“We’re glad no one was killed or we didn’t have a homicide, but in the same breath, we’re still frustrated because we still have people resulting to that gun violence,” Officer William Young said.
It’s a growing issue nationwide, but Young said IMPD is focused on solutions for the local community, including more community events. He says they work.
“We’ve seen that happen where people are starting to dial that 262-TIPS where they can remain anonymous. A lot of these crimes we can’t solve without the cooperation from the community,” Young said.
Some neighbors aren’t so convinced Coffee With a Cop is the answer.
“I think the people that are not getting along with the police are not gonna be the people that are involved in these police participations, it’s gonna be the people that say, ‘Oh yeah, we like the police,’ that are gonna go help them out,” Indianapolis resident Jared Jackson said.
“The problem areas, the ones that I live around, there’s not a heavy cop presence and there’s a lot of gun violence and there’s multiple times where there are shots fired and police don’t even get called,” Tyler Jackson, another Indianapolis resident, said.
They believe part of the solution may be beyond police.
“The police are just enforcing the law, there’s some good ones and some bad ones obviously, but the cops aren’t sitting there making the laws, they’re sitting there doing what they’re told,” Jared Jackson said.
“The amount of guns on the street is concerning and I believe if you get caught with an illegal gun, you should probably get prosecuted a little more than just probation or something like that,” Tyler Jackson added.
But Young said right now, it’s the community engagement and support that is most needed.
“I think that’s more important than any politician, any public official. I think it’s so important that the actual community itself, grassroots, grass tops, they support us,” Young told News 8.
The Coffee With a Cop event is from 2-4 at Gomez Barbeque, located at 2827 E 10th Street.
