(Michigan City, IN) - Michigan City officials are looking at doing more to try and reduce gun violence in a community where the use of a firearm on average happens every day.
One thing being considered is formally asking local judges to keep suspected repeat gun offenders behind bars longer.
City Councilwoman Angie Nelson Deuitch said judges not granting bond reductions for offenders with a history of gun related offenses could make a noticeable difference.
“We need to make sure that they understand we are serious about our streets and about our people,” she said.
During a July 24 meeting of the city council’s Gun Violence Prevention Committee, she released statistics that revealed police since the beginning of 2020 responded to more than 1,500 complaints of shots fired.
Police seized more than 700 guns and made 270 gun related arrests.
Deuitch said there were also 17 gun related deaths in Michigan City over the past three and a half years.
“That’s high for a community our size,” she said.
Michigan City Police Chief Steve Forker said steps taken recently to reduce gun violence include providing more intelligence to patrol officers so they’re better aware of who they might encounter in the neighborhoods.
License plate reading cameras automatically notifying police to the location of a vehicle suspected in a crime have also been installed.
Forker said the devices will soon be able to detect the sound and location of gunfire for a quicker and more effective response by officers.
He said a lot of other things need to change, though, like a culture glorifying firearms to make even more of an impact.
“I don’t think it’s a problem we can arrest our way out of,” he said.
Forker said about a half dozen people were shot during a one week period in late June and early July. The shootings occurred at three different locations.
He also revealed about 10 gang related arrests were made in early July at one location where several firearms were recovered from officers having more intelligence about certain individuals.
