LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Neighbors in the Portland neighborhood met on Tuesday to discuss the programs implemented by Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) to keep crime down and what neighbors want to see in their backyards moving forward.
As one of Louisville's original neighborhoods, Portland has seen a lot of change over the years.
"Up and down…it's on a big up swing right now, it's really doing good," said Vice President of Portland Now, Inc. Richard Meadows, who has lived in Portland on-and-off for 40 years. "The crime in this neighborhood has gone down substantially."
For Meadows, the recent change in Portland has been for the better.
According to the Louisville Metro Gun Violence Dashboard, this time last year there was one confirmed fatal shooting in Portland, and so far this year there have been four.
But in Louisville's 1st Division, however, homicides are down 25% from this time last year, auto theft is down 23%, and vandalism is down 11%, according to LMPD.
"We still have crime, don't get me wrong, every neighborhood does," Meadows said. "Car break-ins, those kind of things, vandalism."
LMPD Major Michael Abernathy, the division resource officer for Portland, said LMPD has started a pilot program to address the abandoned homes in the neighborhood. From 18th and 26th Streets and from Market Street to the river, officers have been clear boarding abandoned houses.
"We've had a run of some fires at abandoned houses and break-ins, it helps keep the community safer and also helps us get inside some of these buildings to see what the structure looks like," Abernathy said.
He said if people are squatting inside these homes, resources are available to them.
"We aren't here to just throw them in jail and try to arrest our way out of a problem," Abernathy said.
LMPD's effort is what Meadows is citing as the reason for the decrease in crime he's seen.
"I can lay it at the feet of the division commander Major Shannon Lauder," he said. "She looks at the numbers, she puts her police where they need to be to knock the crime down."
And he is ready to see Portland continue to trend in a positive direction.
At the monthly meeting held Tuesday, Portland Now, Inc. also discussed middle housing in the neighborhood, a community garden, and how funds should be used to renovate the U.S. Marine Hospital.
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