Before we get a rotator cup injury patting ourselves on the back for the drop in Indianapolis’ homicide rate from a near record 153 in 2006 to 124 in 2007, there are some other disturbing crime trends that have gone unreported which go to the quality of life of this community.

According to the FBI Uniform Crime Statistics, in 2006 aggravated assaults increased 27 percent, residential burglaries were up 33 percent and robberies were up 27 percent. And if you really want to put this in some perspective, let’s go back to 2002. Since 2002, the number of reported robberies has increased 27 percent from 3,000 to 3,815. Burglaries went from 9,662 in 2002 to 12,191 for an increase of 26 percent. My personal favorite category is aggravated assaults, because had someone had better aim or not as good health care, they’d be dead. In 2002 there were 4,200 reported aggravated assaults. In 2006, that number rose to 4,955 for an increase of 18 percent.

When you add up all the major felonies, murder, residential burglary, aggravated assault, rape, robbery, arson and larceny the total in 2002 was 48,503. In 2006 that number rose 16 percent to 56,134. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Marion County’s population grew over that time and more people translate into more crime.” Well, not really. According to the same FBI stats, the total population for the area covered by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was 804,034 in 2002. In 2006, that number was 800,969 for a drop of 0.4 percent. So we have slightly fewer people than four years ago, but a lot more crime.

And just to make you feel better, in 2002 there were 6,000 reported crimes per 100,000 citizens.  In 2006, that number was 7,000. So your chances of being a victim of a major felony have gone up 17 percent in the past four years. And unlike murder, where the victim and the assailant usually know each other, odds are you won’t know the person who makes you a statistic for the 2008 uniform crime statistics.

As many of you know I got to play Master of Ceremonies for Tuesday’s Inauguration of Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard and the new City-County Council.   

The one thing I noticed from my vantage point at the podium, was I got to see a lot of things that the audience didn’t and that gave me different perspective on the event.  Here they are…

Most “Touching” Moment – Seeing the new Mayor get a little teared up as his mother, Mary Ballard, introduced him.

Most “Bi-Partisan” Moment – Watching Democratic City-County Councilors Andre Carson and William Oliver give Ballard strong applause when he talked about ex-offender re-entry programs and eliminating abandoned housing in Indianapolis.

Most “Inspiring” Moment– The peaceful transition of government from one party to another as juxatoposed to what happens in some other parts of the world.

Most “Not Really Surprising” Moment– Several City-County Councilors were absent from the inauguration, including Monroe Gray, who I argue had it not been for him, none of this would have happened.

“Best Line that Never Got Used” Moment – Someone told me back in May that it would be a cold day before Greg Ballard would ever become Mayor.  Anyone know what yesterday’s temperature was?

“Finest” Moment – Finishing an hour-long ceremony in 40 minutes.  Now that’s government efficiency.

Here is my list of the top ten local news items that had the biggest impact on our lives. Feel free to add your own.

10. Indianapolis Colts win Super Bowl. Everyone forgets about the taxpayer subsidy of the new stadium for 24 hours.

9. IMPD forgets to swear-in its rank and file officers during a ceremony at the end of the year and a drunk driving defendant walks, for now. We’re still waiting for the Indiana Supreme Court to come back with a ruling in the case.

8. Governor Mitch Daniels tries to privatize the lottery to pay for college education for Hoosiers, lawmakers decide not to gamble on it.

7. Two Warren Township middle school students engage in a sex act in the classroom and some how this becomes the news media’s fault?

6. Titanic Captain E.J. Smith looks down from heaven at the Marion County May Primary election and says, “that’s gotta hurt!”

5. Several Presidential candidates make stops in Indianapolis. They withdraw money from the political ATMs, take off leaving the receipts on the ground.

4. Marion County Democrats refuse to throw Council President Monroe Gray under the bus, but that doesn’t stop him from returning the favor and Republicans take over the Council.

3. Congresswoman Julia Carson passes away. Family Feud host John O’Hurley will chair the special caucus to nominate her replacement.

2. This summer’s property tax crisis and subsequent taxpayer revolt. Sales of torches and pitchforks skyrocket. Politicians run like rats out of an aqueduct.

1. Political unknown Greg Ballard becomes the Mayor of Indianapolis. St. Jude Thaddeus (The Patron Saint of lost causes)  gives him a thumbs up.

This will be my last post of the year. I have to go be a comedian on New Year’s Eve before coming back Tuesday morning to MC the Inauguration. I want to thank all of you for reading Indiana Barrister and a special thanks to Kevin, who works behind the scenes to keep this forum going.

Happy New Year, see you in 2008.

Indianapolis Mayor-elect Greg Ballard has named former Marion County Prosecutor Scott Newman to be Director of Public Safety.  Newman served as County Prosecutor from 1995-2003 and currently is President of Strand Labs which specializes in forensic testing.

Newman says his priorities are to put the Metropolitan Police Department back under the control of the Mayor,  improve police morale and increase accountability.

During the afternoon news conference, Newman said he did not oppose the police merger of IPD and the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, but thought it could have been implemented better.

It’s becoming quite apparent that some people aren’t just going to let November 6 go. Soon to be Deputy Mayor of Neighborhoods Olgen Williams is coming under attack in the blogosphere for alleged improprieties, which upon close inspection don’t even measure up to being tempest in tea cups.

I am all for fair criticism of public officials however to the new “loyal opposition” I might caution you to temper your criticism with common sense. The latest attacks on Williams could easily be construed as racist, as Amos Brown of AM 1310 pointed out on his radio program Friday. Anyone who knows Amos and me, knows we don’t agree on much, but we both think the only things that were missing in the attacks on Williams were white sheets and burning crosses.

It would be one thing if this were a classic example of boys behaving badly and engaging in out of control behavior, but this is Olgen Williams of the Christamore House who spent a good chunk of his life helping underprivileged black youth, which is more than I can say of some his critics.

Mark January 12 on your calender. State Democratic officials say that is the day they will pick their candidate to run in the special election to replace the late Julia Carson.  560 precinct committeemen will vote at Shortridge Middle School at 34th and Meridian.  Candidates must file at least 72 hours before slating and the filing period begins on January 2nd.  Republicans are also expected to slate their nominee on January 12 as well. However they have not disclosed where the slating will take place.  Sources say the Governor is expected to call the special election on either March 4th or 11th.

Indianapolis Mayor-elect Greg Ballard has chosen old hands and new faces to lead his administration. I told you yesterday that Ballard has chosen Westside community activist Olgen Williams to be his Deputy Mayor for Neighborhoods. This morning Ballard is announcing former Indiana Secretary of State Chief of Staff Paul Okeson as his own Chief of Staff.

Also heading up the leadership team are Chris Cotterill as Corporation Counsel, Carolin Requiz Smith as Director of Latino Affairs, John Cochran as Special Counsel to the Mayor, Greg Wilson as Director of Minority Business Development, and Marcus Barlow as Press Secretary.  Cotterill is the General Counsel for Indiana Office of Technology and manages the state’s website, www.IN.gov. Requiz Smith is the Director of the office of Minority Health for the Indiana State Department of Health and is an Executive Board Member for the Indiana Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs. Cochran is an attorney with John, Lewis, and Wilkins. (Full disclosure, I’m Of Counsel there also.) He served as Ballard’s campaign manager and is also the executive director of the mayoral transition team.

Wilson is a small business owner who has extensive experience with minority MBE vendor programs. And Barlow is currently the spokesperson for the Family and Social Services Administration.

 “It is a privilege to have people of this stature work in my administration,” Ballard said in a statement. “We have been charged with making our city safer and becoming better stewards of the taxpayers’ money. This team will make these things happen.”

Ballard has yet to name a public safety director, comptroller, fire chief, and director of the Capital Improvement Board and head of Metropolitan Development.  A campaign spokesman says those appointments will come soon.

Mayor-elect Greg Ballard is scheduled to make his announcement regarding his appointments tomorrow at 10 a.m.  One name that has been unveiled is Christamore House Director Olgen Williams.  He is slated to be named deputy Mayor of Neighborhoods.   More announcements tomorrow.

Indianapolis isn’t the only place that’s experiencing a property tax crisis.  There are a lot of places where taxes are getting ridiculous.  However in Greenburgh, NY they’re giving senior citizens a chance to work off their property tax bills.  That’s right, seniors are taking part-time jobs working for the city to pay off their tax bills.  Wow, going to work for the government to pay off a bill that it sent you.  Any of this sound familiar?

Mark your calenders. My sources tell me that the Governor’s office is looking at setting March 4 or March 11 as the date for the special election to fill the vacancy in the 7th Congressional District left by the late Julia Carson. Both dates are on a Tuesday.

Sources also say both political parties are expected to caucus in January to pick their candidates to run in the special election. Things are getting interesting on the Democratic side of the race as certain factions look for an alternative candidate to Andre Carson, Julia’s grandson. My sources also tell me that the race to be the BAC (Black Alternative Candidate) is between attorney Randle Pollard and State Representative Carolene Mays.

By the way, number of precincts in Marion County has finally been reduced from 914 to 592 that should make 2008 voting easier.

Stay tuned. This is going to get good.