Decline in gun violence marks success for South Bend

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WIBC) — City leaders report a decline in violent crime involving guns, with a notable increase in confiscating guns from criminals, resulting in a 48-percent decrease in gun violence victims compared to the average over the last four years.

“That’s phenomenal. We wanted to be zero, but as long as we keep getting higher and higher, that’s getting better and better,” remarked Chief Scott Ruszkowski of the South Bend Police Department during Tuesday’s quarterly public safety meeting.

This achievement is attributed to various factors, including gun violence snapshots, assistance from Flock cameras, and shot spotters. Additionally, community involvement, particularly through private surveillance cameras, contributes to the ongoing decline in crime rates.

“Residents have done this as well with their ring cameras. You can register those, and if a detective goes out to a scene where a shooting occurs, they can identify registered cameras on patrol vehicles,” said Dan Skibins, Operations Division Chief of the South Bend Police Department.

Biggs noted, “We live in a technology state now in an era, and so we utilize flock shot spotters some of these other things that I don’t want to go into detail with that help us solve those crimes and help us there lead to point us in the right direction.”

Ruszkowski added that the success is also attributable to the dedication of detectives and officers. “They put their heart and soul into every one of these cases as if it were a family member.”