Leaders note 100% murder decrease in Butler-Tarkington neighborhood

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Butler-Tarkington neighborhood that has waged a long struggle against violent crime is marking one year without a murder. 

Rev. Charles Harrison is an organizer of the Indianapolis 10 Point Coalition. He says April will mark the fifth time in eight years that the Butler-Tarkington area has seen a 100% reduction in murder.

Harrison credits the area neighborhood association for working alongside the MLK Community Center, police, and churches to reduce the frequency of violence. “This is one of the neighborhoods that said we are not going to accept the violence in the neighborhood. They were going to try and do something about it.”

It is not surprising to see members of the 10 Point Coalition walking the streets of the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood. Harrison says this should not be an example just for Indianapolis but for the entire United States of America.

“They really address root causes of violence, on immediate violence and they try to do a holistic approach to addressing the violence and I think they’ve really be successful,” he said.