Police, social experts and violence-weary residents have long noted that when summer arrives and temperatures rise, so does crime.
Particular concerns have been raised over violent crime among youth.
That is why the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) is using this summer to build a stronger relationship with youth, especially those from high crime, inner city areas.
IMPD Chief Rick Hite said one of the many ways future crime can be prevented is by police, and adults in general, making more opportunities to hear from youth.
“Often we hear the adults, but the kids go neglected,” Hite said. “It’s almost like we tell them what they want to hear as opposed to listening to what they have to say.”
IMPD will be listening to youth, and the community at large, when its downtown district hosts a Community Day event on Thursday. State and local law enforcement officers will highlight safety and prevention issues, and guests will be able to enjoy free food from a variety of vendors.
Last week, IMPD’s East District hosted a special event at its headquarters for youth who were bused in from area schools and community organizations. After kids and police enjoyed lunch, presentations were offered by the bomb squad, crime watch specialists, detectives and patrol officers. Youth were then given the opportunity to ask questions.
Officially, the event was called What Role Do I Play in the Movie Peace in the Streets.
“This event was not a bunch of kids coming to see our headquarters, but 150 young and highly impressionable minds who need direction and the hope that they can someday be great leaders locally and on a global scale as well,” said Candi Perry, an officer with IMPD’s Community Relations Unit who organized the youth event and is overseeing the department’s outreach efforts in the East District.
For Chief Hite, such events give IMPD a chance to educate youth not only on how it operates, but also the laws it has to enforce.
“This was an opportunity for them to understand why we operate the way we do under the law,” Hite said. “We have to teach children in our community about the law and its impact on their lives for the long term and short term.”
Developing positive interaction between neighborhood police and Black and Latino youth in particular has become a higher priority for IMPD recently, according to the department’s senior officials.
Community leaders are expressing optimism over IMPD’s new stance. Many of them can recall how, over the years, the relationship between police and minority youth in Indianapolis has become increasingly strained.
Some say this is due largely to controversial police action incidents such as the 1987 death of 16-year-old Michael Taylor, who ended up fatally shot while handcuffed in the back of a police car, and the 2010 case of 15-year-old Brandon Johnson, who was left beaten after an encounter with four officers.
Pastor Darrell Sydnor of the predominantly African-American Rock of Faith Missionary Baptist Church boarded children on the church bus and took them to the IMPD event. He believes it was a good first step in what he hopes is an ongoing effort to have a more positive relationship between police and area youth who might have grown up with negative images of them.
“Some of the kids did not like police officers, and now they want to be police officers,” said Sydnor. “I am extremely excited about the potential presented by this event and I look forward to more great events with IMPD that provide good exposure for our children.”
Shawn Cowherd, who manages Windsor Village for Indy Parks, brought some of the 300 to 400 kids who enter the park every day to the event to let them know that they don’t always have to run from the police.
“This is a grassroots way to show that the police are around to do more than just arrest them or come out for something terrible,” Cowherd said. “There are good and bad people in every department. The police can actually be their friends.”
Sgt. Josh Gissi, who works with IMPD’s swat team, said most officers would appreciate having closer ties with the youth they serve.
“If they have an opportunity to meet us in this fashion and not on a run or disturbance, maybe they can see that our job is multifaceted,” Gissi said. “They will see that we’re not always going after the bad guys whenever they see us in their neighborhood. They can see both sides of what we do.”
