IMPD video notes a drop in total of criminal homicides in 2023
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis police on Thursday released a video championing their accomplishments for 2023.
I-Team 8 talked with a spokeswoman with Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department to discuss its findings.
The video on social media starts with a look at crime, specifically the total of criminal homicides, noting they decreased almost 18% from just two years after a record of 249 murders.
IMPD Officer Samone Burris said, “I don’t think we can speculate as to the reasons why that number is down significantly one way or another, but what we can say is that the efforts that IMPD is doing and working with our community is working ultimately it is our community saying ‘enough is enough.’”
According to the department, nonfatal shootings, violent crime and robberies are down.
However, 2023 brought in a wave of youth violence. So, how is the department addressing youth violence?
Burris said, “I believe that the continued education to our community about choosing other options to resolve conflict is a top priority, just making sure our community knows there are other resources available, learning how to deescalate a situation without resulting to violence that is really what we need to highlight.”
Officer recruiting and retention was an issue during race for mayor, in which Democrat incumbent Joe Hogsett won a third four-year term starting in 2024. The department expanded recruitment out of state, and stepped up on-campus recruiting and released a recruitment video. These steps, on top of sizable pay raises, happened.
But, have the efforts been successful?
Burris said, “Once people understand that people understand that being an officer is a noble career, I think people get the desire to make a difference and make a change. Ultimately, it is on the community to see the benefit in becoming a police officer.”
According to the video and data from the department, the Crime Gun Task Force has taken 369 guns off the street, arrested 266 people and sent ballistic data for at least 40 guns to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
What was not addressed in the video was a spike in police shootings.
The department says that violent crime has been trending down for the past year, and the city was sitting at a crossroads as the new year approached.