TAMPA, Florida — It's a monumental task, but the Tampa Police Department says it's committed to keeping neighborhoods safe. Tuesday night, they addressed concerns in the city's third district in Ybor City.
"Our main goal is to reduce crime," Deputy Chief Mike Kutner said.
In the department's second meeting for its newly launched "Town Hall Tuesday" initiative to build on the strong bonds that make Tampa one of the safest cities in the nation, officers met with community members at Relevant Church.
"What solves crimes is the community's trust and calling us and reporting suspicious activity," Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said.
Police say city-wide crime is down 2.2%. The department says violent crimes with a firearm are down 9% and homicides are down 18.5%, but officers are still seeing an increase in non-fatal shootings.
"That's the area that we're focused on, these non-fatal shootings. It's a big problem," Kutner said.
In District Three alone, violent crime with a firearm is down 21%, but non-fatal shootings are up 23% compared to the city-wide increase of 2.4%.
"There are more guns on the street. Clearly, we're recovering more guns and that's what we have to do," Bercaw said.
Police say so far this year they've recovered 1,004 guns off the street and 423 of them were recovered in this district. While cops try to tackle crime on the streets, the community has their own concerns when it comes to gun violence and their safety.
"There has to be some consequences that these young adults and adults understand that we're not going to take this anymore," a woman in the crowd said.
The most recent shooting in the district was caught on surveillance video. Teenagers with handguns and rifles shot at other teens at a pool hall. Police say 10 guns were recovered during their investigation.
"It's some weeks that I feel like I see this every day going on," Nicole Carraway, a woman who lost her husband to gun violence in District Three, said.
Willie Carraway was killed in August last year. His murder still hasn't been solved.
"It's difficult because I can't sleep at night and the people who took his life, it seems like they're sleeping well," Nicole Carraway said.
She went to both town halls because she thinks a better connection between police and the community will help reduce crime.
"I just hope that the community would come together to take their community back and put a stop to the things happening in the community," Nicole Carraway said.