INDIANAPOLIS — Mayor Joe Hogsett swore in 27-year veteran Tanya Terry as the Chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on Feb. 2. Terry makes history as the first woman to be appointed as permanent Chief of Police for the IMPD.
Terry has served as Deputy Chief of Operations for the last two years, working closely with Chief Bailey and the entire IMPD Executive Staff to directly oversee officers, investigations and major incidents. Under her direction, the Operations Division has been focused on the data-driven efforts that reduce violent crime and on continuing to foster stronger relationships with the community. She has been an integral leader in Mayor Hogsett’s lifesaving Gun Violence Reduction Strategy, implemented in 2022. Indianapolis has achieved a 44% reduction in criminal homicides and non-fatal shootings combined over the last four years and violence continues to trend downward thus far in 2026.
In 2021, Terry spearheaded the Juvenile Diversion Program as a pilot on Southwest District, creating a diversion option that gives young people a second chance. As Deputy Chief, she expanded the program citywide. Rather than arresting youth, the program connects them with the Boys and Girls Club of Indianapolis and other resources, helping them learn from mistakes, avoid the juvenile justice system, and get on a better path forward.
Terry has served in a variety of roles and will step into the Chief’s Office with firsthand knowledge of how the department functions every day. She understands the work of neighborhood resource officers and district detectives who help community members solve problems, the detectives and specialty teams who focus on reducing violent crime, and the commanders and chiefs who lead the department.
Terry moved to Indianapolis during elementary school and has called the city home ever since. A longtime member of the community, she began her law enforcement career in 1999. Terry was raised in Indianapolis and graduated from Warren Central High School before studying psychology and sociology at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Terry and her wife, IMPD Captain Lindsey Terry, have two teen-aged children to keep them busy when they’re not working.
