TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Police Department is hosting a town hall to work toward creating community focused solutions to address crime.
State Representative Diane Hart said this is an issue that expands beyond just the New Tampa area.
“It's East Tampa, It's New Tampa, you've heard some shootings took place out in Brandon, so I mean it's everywhere,” Rep. Hart said.
The town hall comes after several deadly incidents, including a week after a shooting near Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and a day after a Jacksonville rapper was killed outside of a Tampa hotel.
Rep. Hart said she knows first-hand how challenging the issue is and the solutions to change the trends.
“It is a lot. Us as adults who keep getting together to have meetings without these children's voices. I won’t say we're wasting our time but we're wasting sometime,” she said.
Tampa police, along with city leaders, plan to address neighbors’ concerns Monday night.
“You got to make sure that you have a culture here in the city of Tampa and throughout Florida where violent crime is not tolerated,” said Councilman Luis Viera.
Tampa police said violent crime went down eight percent in 2023. Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said its department will continue to go after the one percent that commit most gun crimes.
"City Councilman Viera said this will be an informational meeting to talk about what TPD is doing to address these recent crimes, but also the resources available to the victims,” Chief Bercaw said.
“We want to make sure that victims of crime come first. If you've lost a loved one to murder, if you've been a rape victim we want to make sure that you get the care and assistance you need,” Viera said.
“We've got to be talking to people who have experienced some of these things to be able to talk to our young people,” Hart said.