INDIANAPOLIS — The city's Office of Public Health and Safety (OPHS) said Indianapolis is moving in the right direction despite recent high-profile incidents of youth violence. On Tuesday, four teenagers were arrested after leading IMPD on a high-speed pursuit through the northside of Indianapolis. The chase ended in a violent crash that flipped a cop car and sent an officer to the hospital. SWAT officer injured after police pursuit ends in crash at 30th and Fall Creek Parkway Two smashed vehicles at the scene of the crash at 30th and Fall Creek Parkway. On Nov. 29, a trio of teenagers carjacked two men at gunpoint on the same night. "There is still tons of work that needs to be done as it pertains to not just youth violence, but community violence in general," Ralph Durrett Jr. said. Durrett Jr. is the chief violence prevention officer at OPHS and said despite some recent incidents, the overall picture is improving. He pointed to a sharp reduction in youth homicides so far this year. According to data compiled by FOX59/CBS4, the city has seen at least nine in 2024. That's down from 24 in 2023. "People recognized that the young people were in trouble and more so than they were in previous years," Durrett Jr. said. "They identified it as a prime issue that we should focus on." OPHS credits various community organizations, such as New BOY and VOICES, that work with at-risk kids and are addressing what Durrett Jr. calls the root issues of violence. “When we are talking about crime and when we were talking about violence, these are secondary outcomes of something else that is going on whether that is lack of housing insecurity for food, lack of systemic support," Durrett Jr. explained. "The young people...they want places to go. They want people to listen to them. They want to feel loved. And they want long-term mentorship." However, each time there is an incident involving teens, there are generally calls for reforms to the juvenile justice system or for parents to take control of their kids. IMPD has repeatedly called on parents to step up and be involved in their children's lives after incidents of violence such as in March of this year when seven juveniles were shot in the city's downtown. IMPD cracks down on series of illegal underage parties around Indy “It is easy to also point the fingers at the parents as well, but this is a community issue that ultimately requires a community solution," Durrett Jr. said. "More punitive...doesn’t reach the root cause and to be honest with you, more punitive measures is more of an intervention action versus a prevention action." Durrett Jr. said his focus is more on prevention and putting measures in place to prevent violence in the future. OPHS said its goal for 2025 is to increase the collaboration between community organizations across the city to reach as many kids as possible.