Pubdate: Wed, 13 Apr 2005
Source: Kokomo Tribune (IN)
Copyright: 2005 The Kokomo Tribune
Contact:  http://www.ktonline.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1204
Author: Mike Fletcher

POLICING THE STREETS

When police found 8-month-old Romeo Randolph dead in an East Walnut Street 
residence last month, it wasn't their first call to the area.

The area of Taylor, Walnut and Mulberry streets, just east of downtown, 
ranks as one of the hottest spots in the city, according to Kokomo Police 
Department statistics.

The toddler marked the sixth homicide this year, but the first for that 
area, which in years past has been marred by crime and drug activity.

"At one time, we were prominently on the north end tracking down drug 
dealers," said KPD Maj. Thomas Edington. "I don't see that anymore. I think 
the community has diversified more than 10 years ago."

Overseeing the criminal investigation section, Edington said police look to 
the community for help. That help comes in the form of the Neighborhood 
Directed Policing program, which helps residents get involved with police 
and play a role in crime prevention.

The concept is aimed at identifying problems in neighborhoods and cleaning 
up unsightly properties and areas where drug dealers and other criminals 
are more prominent, he said.

To that end, officers have one-on-one interaction with residents and 
business owners in each of the city's 16 neighborhoods. In each 
neighborhood, police work with the Kokomo Street Department Refuse Unit to 
target and remove rundown buildings and other debris.

Many rental properties on the northeast side notorious for drug use and 
hang outs have been torn down or renovated, he said.

"I think the city is doing a good job," Edington said. "A lot of people are 
moving into low-income housing and apartment complexes and out of the line 
of fire."

While drugs, thefts, burglaries, robberies and even murder occurs in nearly 
every Kokomo neighborhood, the northeast side bears the brunt, according to 
Kokomo Police Department crime statistics.

Calls for service in any given neighborhood range from burglary to robbery, 
unwelcome guests, loud parties to "self-initiated activity," referring to 
crimes witnessed by officers during routine patrol.

Last year, Kokomo police responded to 23,899 calls for service. Of those, 
1,725 came from the northeast side, the second-highest grid in the city for 
police calls.

KPD divides the city into 225 grids, or small areas, as a tool to pinpoint 
and review crime areas.

Due to regular calls and walk-ins to the police department in City Hall, 
downtown ranks No. 1 in number of calls made.

On the street

Kokomo Police Officer Larkin Fourkiller, who has patrolled the northeast 
side's streets for three years, said the statistics cast a bad light on the 
area.

"There's certainly hot spots on the northeast side, just like any other 
part of the city -- the northwest, southeast and southwest," Fourkiller 
said. "It's just not the north side."

He said the majority of the calls he responds to are traffic accidents, 
domestic disputes, battery and unwelcome quests.

"Drug calls are not as not prominent as most people think," he said. "I 
won't get them any more than traffic wrecks and domestics.

"I see the drug problem getting minimized. This police department works 
very hard and has come up with a lot of programs to better enforce and deal 
with drug offenders. I think we doing a good job in addressing the drug 
issues in Kokomo."

Statistics show the majority of requests for service originate from the 
police department in City Hall.

"Sometimes, when I get out of roll call, there are four or five people 
waiting for someone to help them."

When it comes to the dealing with residents, Fourkiller said he feels right 
at home talking the people and occasionally shooting hoops with the 
youngsters in the area.

"I interact with that community," he said. "I get out and talk to all kinds 
of people -- kids, adults and the elderly. I get along very well. I like to 
interact with the community. When I see people outside, especially kids 
playing basketball, I make sure they know who I am. It gives them a sort of 
encouragement. My rapport with the people is quite well."

Fourkiller said the key to gaining most people's respect is treating them 
like a regular person.

"A lot of times I will get out and just talk to them as a person, and they 
ask me things like, 'How are you doing?' and 'How's your job doing?'" he said.

"Sometimes it's not about talking about police matters. It's just 
interacting with the people as individuals. It gives them a better 
relationship with you instead of thinking it always has to with drug 
problems or crime. I know I can't reach everybody, but I try to reach the 
ones I can."

A closer look

While the overall numbers reveal a slight decrease, the number of violent 
crimes, including homicides, rapes and aggravated assaults, has risen in 
recent years.

Randolph is one of six homicides so far this year -- the same number as all 
of last year.

On Feb. 8, Teresa J. Cooper, 48, became the first homicide when she was 
found dead inside her West North Street home. She had been stabbed numerous 
times and beaten, according to police.

Lt. Donald Whitehead said the February attack was likely not random, but is 
an isolated event.

Ruled an arson, detectives continue to search for the person responsible 
for setting a house fire Feb. 19 at 811 S. Bell St., killing a woman and 
four of her children.

Amy Parrish, 25, her sons, Dacota Rasmussen, 4, and Caleb Parrish, 2, and 
stepson, Casey Parrish, 11, all died of smoke inhalation, according to 
police reports. The father, Michael Parrish, escaped the flames.

Police have made an arrest in the Randolph homicide, but Cooper's death and 
the fire remain under investigation.

While homicides increase, overall crime has gone down since last year, 
according to the KPD's Uniform Crime Report, which was released to The 
Kokomo Tribune this week.

The 2004 statistics revealed the number of reported "Part 1" crimes -- 
consisting of theft, burglary, aggravated assault, robbery, rape and murder 
- -- dropped by about 6 percent from 3,223 in 2003 to 3,035 in 2004.

Robberies and burglaries have declined. In 2004, police reported 19 less 
robberies and 90 less burglaries than the year before.

Drugs, which police say is the root of most crime, remain a growing a 
problem throughout the city.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom