Monday, March 18, 2013
Indy's Crime & Punishment, Part 1
Posted by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz @AttyAbdul on Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 9:46 AM
You've probably noticed that Indianapolis has seen a sharp increase in the number of criminal homicides as of late. According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department's web page, as of the week ending March 9, the number of murders was at 22. That number was 17 as of last year, which makes for a nearly 30 percent increase. Not good news by any measurement. However, before I jumped to the conclusion as to whether we were turning into Dodge City, I looked at a couple other crime stats, aggravated assaults, residential burglary and vehicle thefts.
Here is what I found:
Aggravated assaults were up 5.62 percent, from 249 last year to 263 this year. This is important because in many instances the aggravated assault would have turned into a murder had the assailant had better aim or the emergency medical response team got there a little later. I then looked at residential burglaries, because these types of crimes can really hit home (pardon the pun), those were down more than 11 percent from 1,809 in 2012 to 1,598 in 2013. And then finally, vehicle thefts, which are often crimes of opportunity because someone left the keys in the car, those numbers were also down slightly more than 11 percent from 1,008 last year to 891 this year.
Why did I look at those numbers? I am a firm believer that when you look at crime, you should take a comprehensive look at statistics. Had we seen steep increases in all four of those areas, I would really start to worry, particularly since this is only March and if things were that bad when it was still cold outside, just wait until the criminals decided to step out and get some fresh air and enjoy the nice weather. By seeing drops in residential burglary and vehicle thefts and the aggravated assault rate increasing only by single digits, that tells me that there is ample time for the public safety community and law enforcement to get things under control.
However, with that said, the increased murder rate is still disturbing, especially since for the last three years in a row the city's murder rate has been less than 100, and no one can remember the last time that happened. What I am hearing from my friends who work in public safety is that a primary reason for the increase in murders can be tied back to drug dealers stepping up their "collection" efforts. In other words, man owes drug dealer money, man doesn't pay, man ends up in a box. For example, the recent shooting at Lafayette Square where the victim was found with in a car with a gunshot wound to the back of the head, all signs point to a drug dealer trying to collect and send a message to the rest of his or her debtors. Unfortunately, this is the end result of what happens when you engage in counterproductive behavior, bad things usually happen that involve gunfire. And unfortunately, they can escalate, sometimes even at funerals where innocent people get hurt when they are caught in the crossfire.
So what is the answer to all this? I have a few ideas, but they will have to wait until my next column. In the meanwhile, feel free to let me know what you think. You can e-mail me at abdul@indypolitics.org or leave a comment here at NUVO.net. Heck, if you have a good idea, I'll be happy to steal it, since we are talking about crime and all.
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