South Bend neighbors are fed up with crime

South Bend, Ind.—

Shootings, vandalism, and break ins are on shortlist of reported incidents in South Bend continued this weekend.

Neighbors say they are fed up.

“It irritates me that people would be out here shooting like that,” said one neighbor Rev. Andrew Brown.

They’re now calling more people to join the front lines in the city’s battle with crime.

“I want everybody on this street to get along and work to try to have a good community here and to look out for one another and we need everybody to participate in that not just some of us,” said Rev. Brown.

Rev. Brown is hoping more folks on Studebaker Street are just as outraged as he is.

“There were 35 shell casings found on the street,” he said.

Police marked that number, and more, on the pavement right outside his home while investigating a shooting.

But Brown says, the chaos didn’t end there.

“Our vehicle had been ran into and pushed into our garage door,” he said.

After voicing his concerns to police, the department parked a nuisance abatement truck in the neighborhood.

“They brought this abatement vehicle over here and parked it here and it seemed to have done some good so we’re grateful for that,” he said.

But Rev. Brown says police can’t curb crime on their own.

Thursday, he and members of St. Paul Bethel Missionary Baptist Church will lead a prayer gathering on Studebaker Street.

“We need to take control of the situation and handle the situation along with working with the police department,” he said.

But some would like to see more of law enforcement.

“Community initiatives and neighborhoods coming together are great, but I really think that the city needs more than 21 officers per shift,” said Valerie Schey.

Further east, on Wayne Street, a rash of car brea- ins impacted five neighbors in just one day, including former South Bend Common Councilwoman Valerie Schey.

She says, adding more lights and cameras hasn't deterred crime.

So she would like the council to renegotiate getting more officers on the streets.

“It’s going to take an increase number of patrols going through the neighborhoods to put a dent in this,” she said.