INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The number of murders in Indianapolis going into New Year’s Eve was seven lower than the 2018 tally.

Last year was a record breaker. Randal Taylor, who was introduced Tuesday as the next chief of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said that the plan to reduce violence in the city is going to take time.

Taylor said Indianapolis cannot police its way into a less-violent community. He says with the help of community partners he will continue to address the systemic issues of crime.

“So, the goal is, of course, to change the mind and the hearts of those people that are willing to commit crime, and that’s going to take some doing and that’s going to take the community’s input as well. We can’t just do that just as a police department,” Taylor said.

Taylor replaced outgoing IMPD Chief Bryan Roach, who on the day after Thanksgiving announced his retirement from the department after more than 20 years. Roach said he’d accepted a new job outside of the city government. Mayor Joe Hogsett appointed Roach as chief in January 2017. 

Hogsett on Tuesday announced Taylor’s appointment during a news conference in the City-County Building. Taylor was sworn into office later at police headquarters.

Maggie Lewis, president of the Indianapolis-Marion County Council, said two council committees and the full council will hold confirmation hearings for Taylor.

Hogsett said Tuesday he will continue to act as his own director of public safety, which means the police chief will still answer directly to mayor.

Taylor has been a visible figure at crime scenes in Indianapolis for many years. He has worked child abuse, sex crimes, internal investigations and moved through the ranks from patrol to captain, in 2012 was appointed Commander of Community Affairs. Taylor has made it part of his role with the police department to attend the funerals of crime victims.

In his new role as Chief, Taylor’s performance will be judged by the number of crimes in the city, the number that gets the most attention is murder.

“So … I believe we are about seven (criminal homicides) down from where we were last year, which is a good thing. If that holds, then we’ll take pride in that small victory. But, the other part of that is, people lose loved ones in these shootings, and that’s bad,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s new assistant chief of police is Chris Bailey. Bailey left IMPD briefly this year when he was named chief of police in Asheville, North Carolina.

Bailey said the department will focus on hiring new officers, a new beat system and updating equipment

Bailey said, “We have the issue of body cameras still to work on. We have the use-of-force policy that we are very close on. We have a possibility of having some civilian review of critical use-of-force incidents that we are working on. We, of course, have the jail complex coming forward. We have some facilities we have to work on. Leases are up. We have some older facilities and equipment issues.”

 

Statements

“As a collective organization, we are pleased the Mayor selected from within the agency.

“As such, we are hopeful the new Chief and his leadership team will hit the ground running without delay.

“Our City is confronted with the here and now of a Crisis of Violence and a Broken System of Catch and Release Criminal Justice. 

“We look forward to working alongside Chief Taylor to address the safety concerns of our community while ensuring our rank and file officers have the resources, direction and support they critically need. 

“We congratulate Chief Taylor whose professional and life experiences combined with his rise through the ranks of the department will serve our City well. 

“We stand ready to jointly move forward.”

Rick Snyder, president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police

Maggie Lewis, president of the Indianapolis-Marion County Council, released the following statement:

“The selection of Randal Taylor as chief of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and Chris Bailey as deputy chief will enhance the strong level of public safety leadership our community has grown accustomed to.

Taylor and Bailey bring a wealth of experience that will be necessary for addressing public safety matters throughout our city. I congratulate them both and invite the public to attend confirmation hearings for our next chief during the upcoming Public Safety and Criminal Justice committee and full council meetings. For meeting dates visit http://bit.ly/2F85x2H.”

Maggie Lewis, president of the Indianapolis-Marion County Council