With the homicide rate in Jefferson County higher than in previous years, a new team of Louisville Metro Police Officers has been assembled to combat violent crime.The Violent Crimes Reduction Team will be made up of fifteen officers from various divisions within Metro Police. They will work undercover and in uniform as needed to fight gun, gang and domestic violence in crime prone areas of the city.Chief Robert White says taking officers from other beats and putting them on the team will not leave the force shorthanded."We have to target the hot spots if we're really going to be effective," he says. "Regardless of the resources we have, we've got to prioritize them and we've got to use them effectively, and I think this is the way to do that."A large part of the team's job will be to keep an eye on past offenders."10% of the people commit 90% of the crime. That's the rule of thumb and I probably would not argue with that," says White. "When we talk about violent crime, it's a very small percentage of individuals in our community that are doing that, but they do it over and over and over again."In the past, police teams have been formed and later dissolved to fight the spike in crimes that typically occurs this time of year. White says the new team will be active indefinitely.
