Metro SW District Expanding Community Services


(posted Jan 19)

IMPD Major Brian Mahone told the January 17 southwest district community task force meeting that he is planning on increasing the community's ability to use their building at 551 N. King. Mahone said plans are in the works to improve the basketball court and gym to encourage local residents to utilize the building as a community center. "It's a public building. We have a great facility here and we want to use it."

Mahone encouraged community groups and neighborhood associations to use the building for group meetings. The Christamore House is helping in the improvement program. Businesses wishing to donate equipment or materials can call 327.6400 for more details.

Mahone said that response times for crimes in progress dropped last year which resulted in an increase in arrests. Mahone attributed this to an increase in officers in his area. Last year they added 11 officers, four of those at the end of the year. The district will add five to nine more officers in the next few weeks.

Sgt Lori Demaree handed out copies of last month's Hot Spot report, which lists addresses that have had six or more runs to the same address in the month. Mahone said that the department had been able to concentrate officers in some of these areas due to a grant to pay for overtime to bring in additional officers. Normally this grant would not be available until later in the year. Mahone explained that his officers can't always concentrate on a hot spot due to its location such as a single address in an apartment complex, but officers can monitor vehicle traffic in the area of the address to be just as effective. "The hot list and where we can actually put officers into sometimes don't collate."

The district evaluates crime stats on a monthly basis in order to base enforcement priorities. Last year the district averaged 31 arrests per day. Patrol supervisors are used to help designate high profile areas where the extra patrols can produce the best results, such as reducing drug trafficking and prostitution. Mahone said crime areas can move around with the time of day. "The crime scene in southwest doesn't look the same at two o'clock as it does at eight o'clock as it does at three o'clock."

Mahone said scrap metal thefts are now receiving more emphasis with the increased rates of theft due to high recycle value. "We've changed the name of scrap metal theft to precious metal theft."

Sgt Demaree told the group that the department's Cloth A Child program took 49 children shopping at Christmas time and helped an additional 14 kids under six, older children took home Santa sacks to their brothers and sisters too young to be taken shopping.

Hope Garrett, director of Restoring Lives West, passed out brochures describing the group's services to help homeless street youth. More information can be obtained from their website or by calling 217.1409.

The next task force meeting in March will be a luncheon with officers preparing lunch for attendees.