Frustrated by an increase in homicides and other violent crimes, the Louisville Metro Police Department is forming a task force to focus on the neighborhoods where they are occurring, the Louisville Courier-Journal says. Armed with a changing list of trouble spots and suspects, detectives will investigate violent crimes, serve outstanding warrants, and identify drug dealers and gang members. The new effort is on top of one that began in March after seven homicides in seven days. Then, police officials began sharing information on recent crime trends and developing strategies for dealing with them on a district level. The new task force “will be very preventive in nature, holding people accountable for criminal acts,” Lt. Col. Philip Turner said. “Our goal is to make neighborhoods safer, to make sure people feel safe and with 33 homicides, we aren’t making anyone feel safe.”
The task force formation comes one week after Police Chief Robert White sought the community’s help in solving seven of this year’s homicides because investigators have few leads. In recent days, many residents have expressed their fear over the growing violence as Louisville is on a pace to have one of its deadliest years since 1997, when there were 68 homicides. After each homicide, community groups and residents have demanded an end to the violence and questioned what police are doing about it.
Link: http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/07/02ky/A1-crime0702-10564.html