Public safety in Indianapolis: What the city pledges to focus on this year

Curbing youth violence and crime prevention are the focus of Indianapolis public safety leaders this year as the city continues its violence-reduction goals.  

In an update given Thursday, Indianapolis’ mayor, police and city officials shared their vision for carrying out the third year of Mayor Joe Hogsett’s violence reduction plan. The strategy includes creating a position within the Office of Public Health and Safety to specifically prevent youth violence, a problem that spiked last year. The person hired will not only try to stop the flow of illegal gun access among city youth but also curb accidental shootings – another form of gunfire harming and killing Indianapolis kids.  

“Those youth are going to become adults and they’re going to play into these statistics later on,” said Lauren Rodriguez, deputy mayor of public health and safety.  

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The violence reduction plan, powered by a historic amount of federal funding given to the city in 2021, was set to finish at the end of this year. The $150 million from the American Rescue Plan Act has been used for policing technology, budgeting for 100 more officers and 40 new police civilian positions, grant funding for nonprofit organizations, mental health response funding and hiring peacemakers — contract workers who engage with people at risk of becoming perpetrators or victims of violence. The money came at a time when Indianapolis was in the throes of its bloodiest year in its history.

The city in Thursday’s update, however, shared the American Rescue Plan Act funding will no longer be used to fund the programs. Instead, the peacemakers’ program will be funded through Indianapolis’ operating budget for the rest of the year. Hogsett on Thursday said the decision to continue the programs into 2025 and 2026 will emerge during the city budget discussions.  

In the two years since the plan’s implementation, Indianapolis has experienced a significant drop in homicides to the tune of 31%, not only matching a decrease among other cities across the United States, but exceeding it. Recent data from Indianapolis police show criminal homicides, which do not include self-defense killings or police shootings, reached the lowest number since 2019.  

When accounting for total violent crime, including robberies and aggravated assaults, the city had more than a 7% decrease last year compared with 2022.  

“In short, this strategy is saving lives in the city of Indianapolis,” Hogsett said.  

The mayor cautioned the problem is far from over, a point he said was brought into sharp focus on New Year’s Day. Within eight hours, eight people were shot across the city, three of them fatally. Among the dead included an Indianapolis firefighter and a woman inside a vehicle.  

“While declines are what we want to see, even a record decline cannot speak to the experience of every resident,” Hogsett said. “In 2022 and 2023 overall, we saw fewer tragic nights like this past New Year’s Eve and we must continue that progress.”  

Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com