Police chief, business leaders working to change perception of downtown Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's police chief and downtown business leaders want to change the perception that downtown isn't safe.

But city data tells a different story, that it's become more dangerous.

Greater Louisville, Inc., hosted a panel discussion on Thursday focused on attracting and retaining new employees for downtown companies.

The goal was to come together to work to break negative perceptions about downtown Louisville.

"There's very few crimes actually reported in the central business district," said Rebecca Wood, chief operating officer at GLI. "The majority are reported in surrounding areas and so we're really seeing a normal downtown."

In just a half-mile radius of City Hall downtown, robberies, homicides, sexual assaults, car thefts, and assaults were all up in 2023, compared to 2022, according to data from the city.

Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel spoke about the police department's role in the perception of downtown. She said although the department is still short about 250 officers, she's worked to make officers more visible downtown on foot patrol and mounted patrol.

"Downtown is a safe place, a safe place to come and we want you to come, we want you to bring your family, we want you to enjoy your city, our city," said Gwinn-Villaroel.

Economic leaders said the city's business district is still feeling the impact of the pandemic, but tourism is doing extremely well. They hope to see more residential housing downtown to support other businesses.