A report from a criminal justice reform nonprofit criticized Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and the city’s gun violence prevention work.
The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, based in California, assessed the city’s approach to reducing violence from November 2019 to March 2020. The assessment included interviews and data review.
The organization released a report to the city in May 2020, but the city did not share it publicly. IndyStar obtained the report and published it Feb. 15.
The report said the city’s investments in crime prevention through grants and partnerships are “commendable” but noted smaller cities such as Oakland and Washington spend more.
The report said quarterly call-ins, which include people on adult probation in the neighborhood with the highest number of shootings, have “a number of promising aspects” but need improvements.
Based on interviews, the report said one of the most common critiques of the call-ins is they don’t include the people who are at the highest risk of being involved in gun violence. Another critique is the speakers — from various organizations, including IMPD and community groups — “speak down” to the clients.
The report also said nearly everyone who was interviewed said Indianapolis doesn’t have a gang problem and that gun violence in the city isn’t because of gang feuds. Instead of structured, hierarchical gangs, the report concluded, there are smaller groups of people who sometimes commit crime together, and investigators said most people who commit gun violence are in one of those groups.
The institute released its report near the middle of a year that saw a record number of criminal homicides in Indianapolis. At the time the nonprofit was examining the city’s violence prevention strategies, the number of criminal homicides had gone down for the first time in years.
Recommendations from the report
· IMPD should do a better job of sharing data between its different agencies. “It is currently possible that three separate IMPD units could be investigating the same person for three different crimes and be unaware of it,” the report said.
· The city should conduct a comprehensive analysis of the true nature of gun violence. After interviews with community members, service providers, IMPD and others, the institute concluded there isn’t a consensus on why gun violence is high in Indianapolis. “Without a shared understanding on what is driving gun violence in the City, there cannot be a shared strategy, clearly defined roles for partners, or measurable objectives,” the report said.
· IMPD needs to change the structure of its bi-weekly meetings with other law enforcement agencies or create a method to review every homicide and injury to determine the likelihood of retaliation.
· The city should fund outreach workers and life coaches to focus on the people who are at the highest risk of being involved in gun violence. “A City the size of Indianapolis with its level of gun violence should have at the bare minimum 16 Life Coaches,” the report said.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
