The Metro Council is working to find solutions to ongoing burglaries in East Louisville

Metro Council members say they are working to find solutions to the frequent car thefts and break-ins in East Louisville.

Councilman Scott Reed, who represents East Louisville Metro Council District 16, says they are exploring options.

“We are in the middle of the budget process, so I am asking for any ideas we can fund as well as any support we can provide to help hire and train more officers,” he said in response. “We discussed issues such as the police pursuit policy and its origins, the need to potentially enforce ordinances prohibiting the use of masks in public spaces, and, most importantly, the need for judges to no longer release people arrested for crimes as quickly as they could.”

Reed says that with LMPD’s ongoing officer shortage, any officer the city can hire will help.

“Every officer we can hire will help improve the situation and give our department greater flexibility in responding to the wide range of crimes that occur,” he said. “While vehicle theft is important, many of these and other crimes are interconnected – for example, gun violence, theft, drugs and other forms of crime are often interconnected, and if we can make progress on one, we will make progress in the rest as well.”

Council Chairman Markus Winkler says detaining the officers is another piece of the puzzle.

“But we can see that the number of attrition rates has halved in the last six months, so certainly inviting people in is one piece of the puzzle, but making sure they don’t go out the other door is crucial.” he said.

East Louisville resident Paul Knopf heads the neighborhood watch in Glenview Springs, where he says the problem is getting worse.

“We see it, I feel like, definitely every month, if not every other week, sometimes even every week,” he said

He says police presence is limited due to shortages.

While he says better pay is important, it’s not just that.

“You can’t spend a bigger salary on this,” he said.

“In the end, it all comes down to job satisfaction,” he added.

Although not exclusively, LMPD confirms that many young people are involved in these cases.

Knopf says young people need to be held accountable.

“We need to deal with the minors who are committing all these acts,” he said.

“You have to create examples out of people and hold people accountable, that’s what we’re missing,” he added.

The Metro Council will vote to adopt the 2024-2025 budget on Thursday, June 20 at 6 p.m. during its regularly scheduled meeting, during which a proposal to increase funding for LMPD will be proposed.