Community members and Wichita area and university leaders gathered for a conversation Thursday about the perception and reality of safety in the Fairmount neighborhood just south of Wichita State.

After brief introductions of leaders in the neighborhood, Wichita Police officer Chat Burnett gave a presentation on the current state of the neighborhood according to crime statistics.

“If you want to compare,” Burnett said in his presentation, “Fairmount is gobs ahead of every other community in the area.”

In 2015, in comparison to the other neighborhoods surrounding Wichita State, Fairmount recorded less than half of the reported crimes than the other four surrounding neighborhoods. There were zero reported homicides, three reported rapes and three reported robberies.

“You have a safe neighborhood,” said Gavin Seller, interim deputy chief with the WPD. “You should be proud of that.”

Although the numbers in Burnett’s presentation suggest the neighborhood is safer than the surrounding neighborhoods, leaders within the neighborhood were still concerned that students perceive the area to be unsafe.

“Trust is a huge issue when it comes to perception,” Burnett said.  “One of the best things I can tell is … don’t be scared to get out. Have cookouts, picnics, let your kids go play in the park.

“Don’t be sheltered in your houses, because that is where criminal activity will thrive. The way to prevent a lot of criminal activity is by getting out and doing stuff.”

Burnett said he gives an updated version of the same crime statistics every month at the Fairmount Neighborhood Association meeting.

Later, those in attendance were divided into groups to discuss three things: what they believe is working in the neighborhood to make them feel safe, what is happening in the neighborhood that makes them feel unsafe, and what can be done to improve safety.

What’s going well

Residents of the neighborhood agreed the current state of officer involvement within the Fairmount neighborhood was working and making them feel safe. They were also pleased by the increase in community meetings and some improved lighting.

Another item of comfort to the neighborhood was the blue light boxes that have spread from the WSU campus into the Fairmount neighborhood. The presence of the WSU shuttle has also helped to improve the safety of the neighborhood, they say.

What’s still unsafe

Although the group was able to find some improvement in the neighborhood, they were still able to find some critiques to share. Among these, lighting was most discussed.

Some of the lighting in public areas of the neighborhood has been switched to LED, which provides a larger amount of light, but not all the lights have been adapted. Others voiced concerns about loitering in empty lots, sidewalks in poor condition and a poor connection with WSU.

Ways to improve

After finding the neighborhood’s faults, Misty Bruckner, director of Public Policy and Management Center at WSU, asked the group for suggestions on how to improve the neighborhood. Many suggestions were made, but they all fell into the same category: community visibility.

There were many ideas on how to accomplish a louder voice and better visibility among the community. These included repairs to the park, neighborhood block parties and an expansion to the community garden. A parade was also briefly discussed.

In the end, Bruckner and other community leaders said they had some great leads for where to move next.

“There is a commitment,” Bruckner said while cleaning up the community building Thursday, “to be involved from the people here. That [was] a huge start.”