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How Ten Point Coalition plans to make Indy safer in 2018

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The last day of 2017 was marked with another homicide in Indianapolis

It was the 154th murder, surpassing last year’s record of 149, according to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

The Ten Point Coalition is working to make 2018 safer.

New Year’s Day is a day off work for most, but not for the Rev. Charles Harrison, leader of the Ten Point Coalition.

In his office, he’s reading over letters. One came from an inmate.

“We get them all the time,” said Rev. Harrison. He continued, “They share with us how they got there, their frustrations.”

Those frustrations also make for lessons — on what to look out for and how to attack crime in the city.

“The goal for the next year is certainly not to break a homicide record,” he said.

That goal could be tough to achieve, given Indianapolis averaged about three homicides per week in 2017.

On New Year’s Eve, police found a woman shot and killed on the city’s northwest side. Her body had been disposed of right outside her home.

“We’ve heard there was an argument. We’re not sure what it was over. There was an argument, then there was shots fired, and we were called out,” said Lt.  Lawrence Wheeler of IMPD.

Ten Point Coalition has announced it will be expanding its efforts to include three additional east side neighborhoods.

“So, our expansion into three more neighborhoods, we hope will lower these numbers in areas where we’ve seen an increase in homicides,” said Rev. Harrison.

Harrison said the group is also looking to strengthen police and community relations to put a dent in crime: “It’s going to take leaders like myself all over the city to help bridge the gap, between particularly the black community and police.”

Ten Point’s goal for 2018 is to reduce the number of homicides to between 100 and 120. Their longterm goal is to get that number down to 90.

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