Would Indy cops be better without Unigov?

Police protection in the old city of Indianapolis would be better today had Unigov never happened, Chrystal Ratcliffe, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, tells the Evansville Courier & Press.

The story, published Sunday, looked at the history of the 1970 merger of most Indianapolis and Marion County government bodies, and what could be learned as Evansville and Vanderburgh County move toward their own version of unified government.

Ratcliffe’s comment came in the context of minority voting power being diluted through the sudden addition of heavily Republican suburbs to the expanded city. The old city roughly corresponded to the boundaries of Center Township.

Residents of the old city were told services would improve, but that didn’t happen, she said. Rather, the people who got the real improvements were those living in the suburbs. Roads certainly are no better in the old city, she said.

Police protection has gone downhill since city police and county sheriff’s departments were merged in 2006, Ratcliffe told the newspaper, with relations between police and the African-American community growing strained.

In the big picture, Unigov was “just not a good thing for the city at all. It’s not good.” Unigov was more of a political ploy than a way to help the city, Ratcliffe added.

How do you feel about her thoughts? Any overall feelings about the successes or failures of Unigov?