LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Seven homicides in eight days in Louisville have community leaders looking for ways to stop the violence.
Community leaders said there is only so much police can do, so they tried to talk to the mayor one-on-one Monday about some possible solutions.
"We tried to meet with the mayor two weeks ago," said Rev. Gerald Sutton of the African American Think Tank. "We met with Deputy Mayor Bill Summers, because we knew that young men will resort to killing one another if they don't have employment opportunities."
Sutton said young people need jobs.
"You will see that the direct results of that there will be a reduction in homicides," he said.
Mayor's office representative Kerri Richardson said they are working on bringing businesses to the area that could provide jobs, but it is not an immediate fix.
Rev. Elmer Ross said he feels there could be immediate action.
"They know where the hot spots are as far where the killings have happened," he said. "They need to assign more officers there."
Richardson said district commanders can assign officers as they see fit and she said no matter how much police presence there is, the community has to be on board.
"This can't just be a one-way street where the police wait for something to happen and then they react to it," she said. "We need the community to be involved as well. When they see something strange in the neighborhood, they need to call police and let them know. This can't be a one-way street."
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I'm with the Mayor's office representative. It's going to take more than the police to stop the violence. The community must get involved, and until they do so, not a lot will happen as far as change is concerned.
With the economy being as bad as it is, these types of situations will only get worse. People are hungry out here, and desperate also. Everyone must watch their surroundings at all times nowadays. Robberies are on the rise and I believe these types of crimes will exceed homicides for the next couple of years. Not only are folks robbing people, they're breaking into cars and homes also. So we all have to be extra careful when we're out and about.
