LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Gun violence is down 39% since 2021, when Louisville saw 178 homicides. But the murder rate is still higher than it was pre-2020.
The Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (OSHN) announced the reduction ahead of a citywide summit on gun violence Monday. It brought over 200 people together to work on solutions to the city's violence.
"We have to get better at it," director Paul Callanan said. "But what [the data] tells us is what we're doing is working. We're going gradually down, but that's not going to be a big comfort to people who are exposed to violence every day in their communities."
When it comes to reducing violence in Louisville, advocates point at root causes like poverty. "When the only jobs that you can see is either working in a factory or a fast food restaurant, you worry day in and day out," Black Lives Matter Louisville leader Chanelle Helm said.
LaVon Clack added idle hands to the pile. So he runs Prominent Youth of America, which teaches kids how to be content creators.
"They get to freely express themselves, talk about something that they're interested in, not something that's mandated by us," he said.
But the OSHN summit also looked at how to prevent adults from continuing a life of crime. Director Callanan recalled the story of one man outreach workers helped secure a job for out of prison.
"But then his work schedule conflicted with his probation terms and conditions of attending counseling," he added. "Ordinarily, in many situations, that would be a hardship. And under a collaborative approach, with multiple agencies working together, we were able to say, 'let's figure this out for this man,' and we were."
The city-wide approach is one LMPD shared too, engaging other parts of city government in its new crime plan.
"Oftentimes, people are like, 'I don't know about that shooting or anything about that homicide,' but I can tell you that abandoned car has been sitting in front of my yard or that house for months, Deputy Chief Emily McKinley said.
Using officers to handle common problems found in neighborhoods, like lighting, and increasing patrols, could be a difference-maker in pushing the number of violent crimes down even further, McKinley suggested.
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