Residents of Indianapolis may have noticed some things that are different about their public safety agencies, especially the city’s police department.
Those changes, which range from a better relationship with the community to more efficiency and transparency, have occurred under Public Safety Director Troy Riggs, who is marking his first year anniversary in the vital position this week.
In his first year as the man in charge of the city’s police and fire departments, emergency medical personnel and animal control, Riggs has made a significant impact.
“I think the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is definitely much different than it was when we got here,” Riggs said.
Residents might have noticed more officers on the streets, thanks to officials identifying 101 police officers that are being assigned from mostly administrative functions to patrols on the streets.
The Department of Public Safety has also managed to find funding in the city’s existing budget to hire a minimum of 50 additional officers and 45 additional civilians by the end of 2014, as well as 50 additional officers in 2015 and 2016.
Riggs has also launched the Indianapolis Public Safety Foundation to strengthen ties with the community. At press time, the foundation had raised $160,000 to fund grants for 11 non-profit organizations.
Riggs is also credited by many for tackling the tough task of creating a new process to handle complaints against police. This process will be implemented in 2014 with the newly-purchased Internal Affairs Pro that allows for real-time tracking of officer conduct, flagging of officers with multiple complaints, and tracking of the accountability process.
Mayor Greg Ballard noted that the main proof that upgrades have been made to public safety under Riggs include the recent announcement that the police department will be hiring the new police recruits without a tax increase, and has assigned more officers on the streets to prevent violent crime.
“Director Riggs and his team have made great strides to improve the delivery of public safety services in Indianapolis during the last year,” Ballard said.
Before arriving in Indianapolis, Riggs served as chief of police and assistant city manager for safety, health and neighborhoods in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he oversaw a reduction in crime and more than $5 million in savings.
Prior to that, Riggs served on the police force of his hometown of Louisville, Ky., rising to assistant chief of police and chief of staff.
When Riggs was appointed by Ballard last October, the city’s public safety agency, particularly the police department, was reeling from challenges such as lawsuits involving discrimination, community outcry over cases of excessive force, low morale and personal legal problems involving various officers.
At the time, Riggs had the option of returning to Louisville, but instead chose to apply for the public safety position in Indianapolis.
“This was different because I saw all of the potential within the Department of Public Safety,” Riggs said. “It was just a job that intrigued me. I also developed a love for this city and its ability to come together to get things done. ”
Riggs said his first goal was to help “the dust settle” from the department’s challenges, while also spending time listening to the concerns of residents and the department’s workforce, which remains one of his top priorities. He immediately became known for his accessibility and frequent presence at community gatherings throughout the city.
“As I talked to our workforce and the community about public safety issues, I heard a lot of common themes,” Riggs said.
Using concerns and suggestions he gathered based on those themes, Riggs and Deputy Public Safety Director Valerie Washington formed “Efficiency Teams,” or groups of residents, neighborhood leaders and public safety personnel, to review key public safety functions and processes.
Each efficiency team examines a specific challenge and makes recommendations on how to address it. Currently, the teams, about 48 in total are dealing with issues ranging from violent crime, graffiti and community outreach, to crime reporting and administration and hiring processes.
Riggs and Washington have also been conducting administrative reviews, and each department under the public safety umbrella has been instructed to come up with their own goals and objectives, which has helped in the development of what he calls “A Continuous Cycle of Improvement,” or a strategic business plan designed to improve vital safety functions.
“It was funny because at first people were asking, ‘why are we doing all these things?’” Riggs said. “After about four months people started seeing that there was a method to my madness and a reason for it.”
In addition, each public safety agency under Riggs and Washington’s leadership has remained under budget.
“We are doing very well and being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” Riggs said.
Riggs noted that he especially feels good about creating programs to reach youth such as the Decision House program, which offers students an interactive opportunity to see first-hand the dramatic and tragic results of poor decision making.
Riggs noted that he shares credit for any accomplishments with the men and women who serve in public safety agencies.
“I am most proud of how we have strengthened the relationship between the Department of Public Safety and the citizens we serve, and look forward to deepening those ties as we go forward,” he said. “I truly believe we have only scratched the surface of all we will accomplish for public safety in Indianapolis, but I am energized by how far we’ve come in the past year.”
Troy Riggs at a glance
Title: Public Safety Director
Family: Wife of 23 years, and two sons, 16 and 11
Previous positions: Police officer in Louisville, Ky., rising to assistant chief of police and chief of staff; chief of police and assistant city manager for safety, health and neighborhoods in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Favorite pastime: Playing and watching basketball. Grew up as a University of Kentucky fan, but admires passion of Indiana University fans.
