LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Even on a cold day, "Doc" Burrus enjoys the view from his porch.
"If it was a little warmer, this place is bumper-to-bumper with traffic and music," Burrus said from his home in Westover, a west Louisville neighborhood between Chickasaw and Shawnee parks.
Even though he doesn't feel unsafe in Westover, he said Louisville's violent spike has changed things.
"I stay in my own lane, and it's done got to the point if somebody cuts in front of you — crosses in front of you driving down the street — usually, you give them the finger or say something, but you don't do that no more, because you don't know what they're on," he said.
His neighbor, Donna Purvis, knows the feeling. Purvis, D-5, is a member of Louisville Metro Council and said the crime in her district of northwest Louisville is so bad it's disproportionate.
"I would say that we had a fourth of the fatalities and shootings from last year," she said.
It's a vicious cycle. Purvis said her constituents are many times too afraid of retaliation to turn in those perpetrating the crimes, even to the Louisville Metro Police anonymous telephone tip line.
"We have this snitch factor here, and you know, no one wants to say anything because they are afraid of the consequences or the repercussions of speaking up," Purvis said. "We've seen people that court-ordered to be witnesses that, unfortunately, are no longer here, and you know, that sends a strong message in the community."
So the councilwoman got an idea to create an even more anonymous way to send in a tip. She calls them hotspot cards.
"Any suspicious activity, illegal activity or anything that you suspect is taking place that is illegal, you can identify that on this card without putting your identity on the card," she said.
Metro Council member Donna Purvis (WDRB file photo)
Once it's filled out, Purvis said it's as simple as putting a stamp on it and throwing it in the mailbox.
She said many have already participated.
"We've gotten back quite a few," she said.
They've been around for a couple years, but Purvis is making a new push as crime spikes.
"I'm really shocked and surprised that we're going into the year the way we went out of the year," she said.
She hopes her neighbors and others will embrace this idea of using their voices in an anonymous way.Â
Purvis said anyone interested in getting a stack of the cards can call her Metro Council office at 502-574-1105.
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