INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) joined other public safety stakeholders recently to begin developing a three-year strategic plan aimed at addressing gun violence in the Indianapolis community. The plan will leverage ongoing efforts to combat violent crime and foster further collaboration between local law enforcement, prosecutorial agencies, and the community.
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) representatives spent two days in Indianapolis as officials from the IMPD, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, and Marion County Community Corrections met to begin the strategic planning process. This technical assistance comes as part of Indianapolis’ participation in the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP).
PSP is an innovative framework that enables the DOJ to support local law enforcement and prosecution authorities in aggressively investigating and prosecuting crime. In Indianapolis, PSP has taken the Operations Approach, building on national best practices to develop tailored, intelligence-driven enforcement strategies for short- and long-term violent crime reduction, with specific attention devoted to gun violence.
The new plan will align with IMPD’s existing efforts to address violence in the community, including a crackdown on the illegal possession of firearms by violent offenders as part of Mayor Hogsett’s comprehensive violent crime reduction strategy. Announced last December, the strategy also includes neighborhood-level interventions and expanded access to wraparound services.
In April, IMPD returned to community-based beat policing city-wide, rolling out 78 beats across the city that allow officers to get out of their cars and build relationships in the neighborhoods they serve. The City has invested nearly $3 million in grassroots organizations engaged in crime prevention through grants awarded in 2018.
