Crime is a problem in the city and it does need to be addressed seriously. However, it is not just an issue for the Mayor to "solve." First, as the author notes, the community needs to face facts and realize that doing everything on the cheap--the Indianapolis way--means the community gets exactly what it pays for. Taxes will have to be raised. People need to hear those words and accept them. Second, I think we need to be honest about where crime occurs. Yes, there is crime throughout the city and the metro area; however, the VAST majority of crime--especially violent crime--occurs in the same long-neglected inner-city neighborhoods where it has been occurring for the past 40 years. The community needs to move past the "containment" mentality. The city cannot have large neighborhoods left to decay, eventually they bring the whole community down. Third, it is about time Indianapolis acknowledges the huge connection between the failed IPS school system (and the poor neighborhoods it serves) and the high crime rate. IPS along with broken families and impovershed neighborhoods have created generation after generation of throw-away kids who never receive a proper education and quite often end up involved in gangs and the associated criminal activity. Finally, the community needs to commit itself to winning the war on crime block by block. The problem will NOT simply be solved by more police, special programs, or "blue-ribbon" committees. Interestly, the city had its HIGHEST murder rates (yes, right now is NOT the worst the city has seen) in 1997 and 1998. This was under a different Mayor and long before police consolidation (which I support because it is BULLSHIT that people in the IPD district were double-taxed for decades and paid for the Sheriff's Dept and IPD when the Sheriff served primarily the areas outside IPD's district). The city overcame this problem once, and it can do it again. However, this time it needs to develop a comprehensive solution, so the crime rate does not rear its ugly head in another 10 years.

All I have to say is that I am voting and that is what we need to do to make change happen. I'm sick and tired of all the crime in our area and in Indianapolis in general. The consolidation was a JOKE and things are drastically getting worse. If you call the Mayors office, they will try to tell you that things are getting better, they will show you charts that are not telling the truth about how many officers are on duty in your district. We need more "trained and decorated" officers, we need to pay them what they deserve! We need them to stand by us as we try combat the crime in our neighborhoods and the less of them there are, the worse it is going to get. Bart needs to get his head out of his ass....I guarantee he will not be getting my vote.

For the truth about crime in this town see www.indyundercoverblogspot.com. I never thought I would consider leaving this city, but now....

You hit the nail on the head with this story. We've been cheating our criminal justice system for decades. Mayor Peterson didn't start the problem but he sure hasn't done much to fix it. He comes out with tree plantings and 100 new street lights. Give me a break, we need hundreds of more cops, dozens of more prosecutors and defenders, hundreds of more jail beds, and a school system that churns out more graduates than criminals. All of this is going to cost us money, and its time to bite the bullet. I hate taxes as much as anyone, but public safety is the most fundamental purpose of government.

Thank you, Anonymous for that information I did not know that the Police Dept. was so short staffed, I would not like to fight crime without backup, you just never know what will happen. Thank you,

Nikki, in their defense, most of the time when you see 4 or 5 guys sitting somewhere it's because they're the only ones in-service on the whole district. It's not a good idea to be out trying to find crime when you're already shortstaffed and have to make sure you've got at least 4 cars available to take 911 calls. In that situation, if one guy finds an arrest he'll have to ask at least another car to assist him, and then if someone calls 911 for any reason whatsoever, suddenly you have literally nobody available to assist.

My comment to anyone in a high crime area is to look out for yourself and other if you can because, if you would like to see the police, ride around in your area it is a joke! The police on the Westside would rather sit a the gas station, in little clicks, then fight crime. I gave up on the police when I moved to the westside and seen the things that go on when the is just sitting in one area on the city talking and playing games. Crime will always be high if you just sit in one area all the time.

Amen Brother. I, for one, am getting sick of turning on the TV and hearing night after night about the one to three people who shot or killed with in the last 24 hours!!!! This city seems to be as crime ridden as old Detroit or Chicago. Shoot outs on the street--this is insane and beyond out of control.