Indianapolis Launches a New Four-Part Initiative to Target Latino Crime

Indianapolis police and city officials have introduced a four-part strategy for combating Latino crime, which they say is largely underreported.  According to Indianapolis police and Spanish-speaking city officials, the police first must gain the trust of the Latino community, so they will report crime and cooperate with officials to solve crimes.  (Marion County, where Indianapolis is located, has about 85,000 Latinos).  The remaining three phases of the strategy include community education, recruitment, and greater communication.  The Indianapolis Police Department has already appointed a Latino officer to serve as a citywide community liason, and established 327-MOTA, a Spanish-language hotline.  The City still plans to increase the hotline's publicity, and launch a full-color advertisement in Spanish picturing a hand holding a blue telephone as a symbol of power.  The ad campaign is called, "Luchemos Juntos Contra El Crimen" meaning "Let's fight crime together." More from the IndyStar... [Mark Godsey]