WHAS11 coverage

Residents in Old Louisville say crime is on the rise in their neighborhood and they are determined to stop it.  Police say crime has spiked there in the past four or five months.  Now some neighborhood associations are putting some big bucks into taking their neighborhood back.  Police say they are stepping up patrols in Old Louisville and those who live say they are stepping up some patrols of their own.

“This is a wonderful place down here, but there’s too much crime down here,” says John Caudill, who lives in Old Louisville.

The beauty of Old Louisville is unmistakable.  But lately, that beauty is being overshadowed by what some residents call a growing problem.

“I moved down here about two months ago to go to U of L,” says John Hausmann, who lives in Old Louisville.  “My car was broken into the third day I was here and I had a bike stolen that was chained up outside my apartment.”

John Hausmann says he’s more nervous to walk in his neighborhood at night and only walks through these alleys during the day.  Police say he may have good reason.  They have seen an increase in violent crimes in Old Louisville in the past four to five months—more robberies and more shootings.  But some Old Louisville residents say they won’t stand by and watch it happen.

“We’ve noticed some recent incidents and we want to nip it in the bud,” says Herb Warren, part of the 4th Street Neighborhood Association.

“There is a perception that there is a crime problem down here because there is,” says Caudill.  “The way to handle it is to address it...not to ignore it.”

It’s hard to ignore that some homeowners are addressing it.  They are keeping an eye on their neighborhoods with video surveillance cameras.

This week, one of those cameras caught a man setting a dumpster on fire in an alley and walking away.  The next day, the word “SQUAD” showed up on the garage door near that burnt-out dumpster.  Police say they don’t know if the incident is gang-related, but the “Doom Squad” is one gang known in Louisville.

“We’re not trying to be big brother, but we are trying to get more public places,” says Jeff Smith, who lives in Old Louisville.  “[We want to] make sure it’s safe down here.”

The Third and Fourth Street Neighborhood Associations are putting up some $25,000 to go towards installing more surveillance cameras and signs to point them out, in those areas.  They say they hope they will deter some crime, and catch some of those people responsible.