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Downtown Indy Inc., IMPD partnering in hopes to make difference in homeless community

INDIANAPOLIS Ind. (WISH) – Downtown Indy Inc. and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department are partnering in an effort to make a difference in the homeless community. The two are announcing their latest contribution to a specific task force Tuesday morning.

The IMPD Flex Task Force will be getting five new mountain bikes. IMPD officials say the bikes will be used to get to hard to reach areas of Indianapolis.

IMPD has a long history of using bikes to patrol the streets, and that history continues as these new bikes will replace the five older bikes for the Flex Team.

The department says the bikes are an improvement over the old bikes. The news bikes are a newer model and they have more features.

Bob Schultz from Downtown Indy Inc. says they hope it adds to the safety of a vibrant downtown.

“Homelessness and poverty have been around for decades for years and centuries,” said Schultz. “What we want to do is mitigate that what we want to do is give people the perception that the homeless community isn’t necessarily something to be afraid of as a community. It’s something to embrace and to help, and that’s what we are trying to address with IMPD.”

One feature that has IMPD excited is the detachable bags on the back of the bikes. It allows officers to quickly get medical supplies in hard to reach areas in order to help as many homeless people as possible.

Something else you may notice on the bikes are new decals. They are brand new and Downtown Indy Inc. and IMPD are unveiling them Tuesday. It’s a picture of a simple handshake between the IMPD and Downtown Indy Inc. logos.

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