Councilman Ferlic and Mayor Buttigeg address concerns about South Bend violence

Councilman Fred Ferlic represents the 4th district, that's right below and to the east of Notre Dame University.  And the alumnus is concerned, because just in the past four weeks, there have been three reported shootings, just steps away from campus, leaving one dead, and three injured.  And as an orthopedic surgeon, Ferlic has seen these gun shot victims come into his hospital.  

So he's asking the mayor to step up, to find some solutions to the gun violence, because he says it's affecting the city.  He wants the mayor to find some short term solutions, and some long term solutions.  

But Mayor Pete Buttigeg says those are already in place, and says the city has a highly effective crime fighting strategy.  

The most recent numbers show that over a ten year period, from 1992 to 2012, crime has steadily decreased, with categories including violent crime, robbery and theft.  But councilman Ferlic's conversation isn't about violent crime over all, it's about deadly shootings. And the numbers on that, aren't reassuring. In fact, the numbers aren't any better in 2012, than they were 10 years ago.  

But Mayor Buttigeg insists, it's something the city is working on, and many of those strategies are already in place, including a pay increase for law enforcement, that was just included in the 2015 budget. Also, the city has created a partnership with area colleges, including Notre Dame, to combat violence. And they've adjusted police officer beats to be organized by geography, as opposed to time of day.  

And it's something the city intends to continue to effort heading in to the new year.