INDIANAPOLIS — City leaders, senior administration officials, and community antiviolence leaders recently announced a series of investments in violence prevention strategies. The announcement is the result of nearly a year’s worth of engagement with national best practices and community stakeholders. The announcement comes as Indianapolis recorded several homicides in past weeks.
The funding represents over $3 million in new and expanded programming for antiviolence measures, as Indianapolis faces a significant increase in the number of homicides and non-fatal shootings. The funding is distributed across multiple city agencies and partners.
The package contains over $1.5 million towards enhancing IMPD capabilities, including:
• $550,000 for situational awareness and community interaction systems, to enhance information-gathering and intelligence work
• $180,000 to upgrade internal technology infrastructure and hardware
• $620,000 to enhance, analyze, and increase staff levels for data work, to target those most likely to commit or experience gun violence
• $170,000 for an officer intervention system, to increase accountability and provide an early warning when officers deviate from departmental standards
IMPD has made changes recently to IMPD antiviolence practices, including the creation of IMPD violence reduction teams and district violent crime task forces, which were activated in early April. The initiative targets the limited number of individuals driving the cycle of violent retaliation in Indianapolis neighborhoods. The enhanced data will help improve the recent use of directed patrols, which conspicuously place IMPD officers in locations to deter criminal activity.
The package also contains nearly $1.8 million in non-law enforcement public safety investments, including:
• $370,000 towards domestic violence reduction, including victim response services and funding for domestic violence interrupters
• $350,000 for mental health capabilities, including adding mental health expertise to dispatch and building out juvenile mental health and trauma resources
• $390,000 towards juvenile intervention, featuring grant funding for local organizations and at-risk youth programming
• $680,000 to expand staffing capacity at the Assessment and Intervention Center (AIC)
Beyond these investments, officials are increasing community violence reduction team programming. The traditional Safe Summer series begins Friday, June 11, and will run throughout summer on weekend nights at three separate locations. In addition, the OPHS would resume in-person community safety meetings, working with key stakeholders to redirect individuals at the highest risk of encountering gun violence. Since opening in December 2020, despite pandemic space restrictions, the AIC has served nearly 600 unique clients experiencing addiction and/or mental health crises, helping with resources as an alternative to engaging with the criminal justice system.
In fall 2020, the City-County Council unanimously approved a 2021 budget that increased overall public safety funding, and notably boosted community violence reduction resources with a one-year addition of $1.25 million.