YOUTH CRIME ISSUE COMPLEX

As executive director of Christamore House, a social service center
in the Haughville neighborhood on Indianapolis' Westside, Olgen
Williams has taken an active role in addressing the violence that has
plagued some city neighborhoods on both the East and West sides. The
city has taken steps in recent months such as making warrant sweeps
in high-crime areas to get criminals off the street. We asked
Williams, 57, if things are getting better.

Q. How safe is the city these days?

A: It's hard to measure how safe it is in relative terms. I think
it's safe for most citizens but unsafe for others because of their
lifestyle or choices they are making -- particularly those young men
and women who have chosen to engage in drug trafficking and gang-banging.

I think you can walk down the streets of Indianapolis and be safe.
You can't walk down and be foolish, of course.

Q. There were 114 homicides in Marion County last year and this
year's toll will be very close to that number. What is the root cause
of this violence?

A: There are a lot of causes to violence. Some of it is domestic
violence; some of it is anger; lots of it is drug-or gang-related.
Some of it is immaturity when it comes to gang mentality and turf issues.

Q: This summer, four teenagers were slain in four weeks -- Roderick
Jenkins, 15; Tony L. Wise, 16; Andre S. Holman, 15; and Tyric
Rudolph, 16. Are teenagers at greater risk? If so, why?

A: They are getting more and more at greater risk for several
reasons. You've got to look inside the homes. For many, parental
oversight is light. They are left to themselves at 13, 14 years old
or even younger. A proverb says 'a child left to himself is going to
bring shame to his parents.' But they're not being left to
themselves. They leave their children in front of a violent video
game or listening to a raunchy rapper with lyrics about sex and
violence. This stuff affects the brain pattern of young people. What
do you expect? These people are dropping out of school in the 10th
grade, playing the Grand Theft Auto video game and watching
rump-shaking videos that glorify violence and sex. Then they go out
in the streets. They can get a gun. Then when somebody crosses their
turf or throws the wrong sign up, they shoot. They don't think of the
consequences of taking someone's life.

Q: What resources do families need to help their children?

A: One of the things that's missing in homes is spirituality and God.
More kids need to go to church and bring God into their lives. That
counseling can bring family members together and help families
overcome obstacles. And the children have places they can go that are
very positive. When we have ministers working with kids, those
children tend to do much better.

Q: Police and public officials have made efforts. One is a new state
law that makes it harder to buy cold medicines that can be used to
make methamphetamine. Does this have any effect on violence?

A: Oh yes. But it's not going to stop it because it's about money.
Addiction is devastating to children. Addicts put the drug above
everything. They don't buy food or clothes for their children. They
spend their money on drugs. While they get high, their kids sit
there, undernourished, unkempt, watching TV or playing violent video
games. They see this music video rapper with the bling-bling on and
learn that violence is one way they can get wealth. They go out and
do it when they get older. Youth are very impressionable.

Q: City officials and police have conducted organized sweeps to crack
down on blighted homes in crime-ridden neighborhoods. In August, one
such sweep on the Near Eastside led to two arrests and six children
being removed from a home because of the deplorable living
conditions. What effect, if any, do these efforts have on crime?

A: Criminals have a tendency to do their activities where they think
it is acceptable. If you go in there and clean it, they flee.
Unkempt, abandoned properties send a message that it's OK because no
one cares. When you clean them up, like the city is doing, that sends
a message that crime is unacceptable.

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Olgen Williams

* Age: 57

* Family: Wife, Mary Williams. The couple has 10 children.

* Neighborhood: Haughville.

* Work: Christamore House director and chair of Westside Weed & Seed
in Indianapolis.