LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A retired Louisville Metro Police Department supervisor is speaking out about an idea to reduce crime in Louisville.
Former Sgt. Todd Brimm was in charge of the department's Virtual Team Neighborhood Watch Program from 2011-16, but the program fizzled out when he left.
Former LMPD Sgt. Todd Brimm wants to bring back the department's Virtual Team Neighborhood Watch Program, which he ran from 2011-16 before his retirement. He thinks the program could help reduce crime in Louisville. (WDRB photo)
Now, he's trying to put the concept back out in front of people because he thinks it could make a huge difference in combating crime.
"That's probably part of the reason why I'm here today, because it doesn't have to be this bad. This can be mitigated," Brimm said.
He describes a much different time in Louisville just a few years ago.
"When I left LMPD, we were having just over 50 homicides a year," he said.
Compare that to the 500 people who were murdered in Louisville between 2020 and the end of 2022.
That stark difference is the reason Brimm is speaking up about the Neighborhood Watch Program. During his tenure of running the program, he organized more than 50 Virtual Block Watch teams primarily in LMPD's Seventh Division, which serves south Louisville.
"This funny thing happened when we gave people some guidance and some information," he said. "They took ownership and we saw a vastly, vastly positive change, sometimes a 40% reduction in specific crimes.
The virtual teams got neighbors organized and communicating online, had team captains and were in contact weekly with LMPD.
"People are funneling information to or from each other about crime or quality of life issues that mean so much to them," Brimm said.
He said the teams helped neighbors reduce crime in their neighborhoods at a grassroots level. He also said they were more effective than a traditional block watch, and more proactive than the popular Nextdoor phone app or even a community Facebook page.
"We can do better than that, as a community. We have to do better than that," he said.
At the height of the program, Brimm said, 15,000 people were part of a virtual team and the results measurable.
"There was 34% reduction in theft from unlocked automobiles in the areas that we were looking at," he said.
As LMPD finds itself short on officers and often times public trust, Brimm is hoping his old program might be part of the solution to bridge the gap.
"When we become aware of the small things, the picture becomes clearer on a lot of the other stuff," he said.
Brimm said he's already reached out to members of Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg's administration about restarting the Virtual Block Watch program.
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
