Lawrence deputy police chief addresses crime trends in Marion County city
LAWRENCE, Ind. (WISH) — Coming off a record year in homicides in Indianapolis, neighboring communities are also working to address the violence.
Gary Woodruff, deputy chief of Lawrence Police Department, says his northeast Marion County community didn’t see quite the increase in violence that Indianapolis saw. All told, he says, Lawrence had just five criminal homicides in 2021 and had a 100% clearance rate.
Woodruff explains that Lawrence is seeing an increase in catalytic converter thefts in 2022.
“It takes about 20 seconds for someone to crawl underneath a vehicle, cut that catalytic converter off and then be on their way,” Woodruff said. “Then they’ll sell it for those precious metals contained within. Those crimes can be prevented by better lighting on better parking lots, and by increasing video surveillance and extra patrols.”
Lawrence police also plan to increase their staffing in 2022. The department has been allocated funds to hire 62 new officers and are working toward plans to clear funds for three more.
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