ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Students at Southern Illinois – Carbondale are crunching numbers to crack down on crime in the Castle Point neighborhood in north county.
“Where crime was concentrated, when it was, what was it associated with,” SIU Instructor Tammy Koechel said.
The Salukis are using data to track crime trends so police can push resources in the right places. One of the first issues brought up by neighbors was illegal dumping.
“We put in two closed-circuit cameras in the neighborhood to try and capture individuals,” she said.
The eyes in the sky are also used to stop the biggest problem, shootings. They are coordinated with ShotSpotter, the technology that detects the sounds of gunshots.
“In the event, the camera turns in the direction of the shot to see who did the shooting,” the professor said.
They've tracked 410 shots in 14 months, all in a neighborhood that’s less than a half-mile.
The housing problem is a breeding ground of bad behavior according to the student’s study. 60 percent of homes are rentals. Another 25 percent are vacant.
“When residents of a neighborhood spend time with each other, they know each other well. It makes it easier to establish expectations for behavior.”
There are many more initiatives that have corm from the students year-and-a-half-long study. They say they are just getting started.
The partnership between SIU, police and the community is funded by a $1 million grant that lasts three years.
"The partnership between STLCPD and SIUC has helped us not only address the issue of crime in the Castle Point neighborhood, but also reveal other concerns that have plagued the community for years such as a large number of vacant and abandoned properties, lack of leadership, blight, dilapidated vehicles, and residents who have lost hope in ever being able to revitalize their community. This partnership has also helped us be more intentional about improving community-police relations," A spokesperson from the St. Louis County Police Department said. Our short term goal is to reduce crime in the Castle Point neighborhood. However, our long term goal is to provide sustainable change through innovative strategies and revitalization initiatives that will last beyond the life of the grant."
