The City of Ames has decided to institute national background checks for all participants in its Section 8 housing assistance program.

The new background checks are an expansion of those currently utilized which only use state data.

The decision comes after an Ames resident filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the city, asking for the addresses of past and present Section 8 housing program participants, with the intent to correlate that information with neighborhood crime statistics.

The city and a group of Section 8 housing participants filed for a temporary injunction barring the release, citing a fear that it could jeopardize residents safety. A judge issued the injunction.

“If you take the crime data, and if you map it as a layer over the Section 8 housing data, then you can see if there’s any correlation whatsoever between crime and Section 8 housing,” [said Joe Monahan, who filed the the request]. “Now, if there is correlation, then the city should be aware of it, and they should address it. If there’s not a correlation, then the people who are constantly blamed for every crime that’s committed in town need to be vindicated.”

The Iowa Independent reported in July on Ames’ ongoing work to create a more inclusive community after a surge in criminal activity with some ties to the city’s Section 8 housing program. The city soon became one of several Iowa cities to institute the Iowa Crime Free Multi-Housing Program, a partnership between police officers and rental property managers to help keep a lid on illegal activities.

Rumors and innuendo were stirred again early this month when two homicides were committed in an Ames apartment complex. The local paper, The Tribune, worked quickly to dispell any rumors.

The reader response to the double homicide reported in The Tribune has already soared to predictable conclusions. Why is Ames becoming so violent? Who are these people? Is 1103 Pinon Drive subsidized housing?

Part of us recoils at what we see as thinly veiled racism implied by these questions. But we’re journalists, too, and a question is a question. For the record, the two people killed this weekend in Ames, Shakena Varnell and Michael Odikro, were not participants in the Section 8 Housing and Urban Development subsidy program.

Should it matter?