While Indy's newest efforts at stopping homicides here get underway, it is interesting to take a look at Dallas, which managed a 12 percent drop in murders in 2021 after years of skyrocketing statistics. In 2020 Dallas totaled 251 homicides—their highest number in more than 15 years and 2021 started at a rate that would surpass it. So how did they turn it around?
First off all, they have a bigger police force. Indianapolis has one police officer to every 588 citizens. Dallas, has one officer to every 419 citizens. If you think those numbers are similar, do the math. We are spreading our police force pretty thin. Basically, our cops have to do 40 percent more work to equal the same result. As creative as our force may be, that is one giant obstacle.
So with the surge of homicides in the Spring of 2021, the Dallas police chief rolled out 'hot spot' policing. Then a couple of criminologists from the University of Texas got involved. They divided the city into small block-sized grids and pinpointed the most violent. Together they picked the top 47 blocks in which to execute a plan.
Two strategies were used. During peak crime hours, a surge of patrol cars would enter the area with their emergency lights on. They remained there with lights running. The second strategy employed a team of specialized officers who monitored the repeat criminal offenders. Within six months there was roughly a 50 percent drop in homicides in those areas, while most other sectors continued to have double-digit increases.
Even with the large force, only about 10 percent of Dallas' violent crime areas were able to be covered by hot spot policing tactics, but the improvement in those blocks were so substantial that the overall Dallas homicide rate went down by 12 percent to 220 murders for 2021 and robberies were down 25 percent. At least 31 lives were saved.
Hot spot policing was not invented in Dallas, although they put their own twist on the effort, and it's not a miracle cure. But, according to one study, "The average age of victims are 28 years old and almost 80 percent are black." If we really care for all our citizens we have to support Indianapolis Metropolitan Police efforts however they plan to drive down homicides here.
With 271 murders in Indianapolis in 2021, many people ask themselves, am I next? The people I know who live in hot spots in our city want a place where their kids can go out and play without the danger of flying bullets. (Like the 3-year old on East 34th Street.) They want to go out after dark without hiding in the shadows. They want their sons to grow to be mature adults. For all that, a concentrated police presence is not only necessary, it their right.
We have the money now. Let's make it happen.
Nancy
