Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has unveiled a summer crime strategy which he hopes will help stem the tide of the city’s rising murder rate.
Indianapolis has seen 68 murders so far this year, which puts it on track for another record-breaking year for criminal homicides.
At a news conference today on the east side, the Mayor unveiled several initiatives he said would help reduce crime.
The proposals included…
- A juvenile re-entry program to help young adult offenders age 17 and older, who have been associated with firearms, with employment and educational opportunities.
- Strategic enforcement in neighborhoods so as to better target drugs and gun crime.
- More intervention with at-risk youth,
- Additional neighborhood crime prevention such as expanded police bike and foot patrols.
Hogsett and IMPD say their new approach is more targeted to address particular crimes in certain parts of the city, which they hope will help stem the city’s record murder rate.
Local Republicans were somewhat skeptical of the Mayor’s latest efforts. “After being sworn in as Mayor of Indianapolis, Joe Hogsett told the citizens of Indianapolis that when it comes to crime “the proof is in the pudding, it will be in the performance,” said Marion County Republican Chairman Jim Merritt. “Two and a half record-breaking years later, Joe Hogsett has decided to announce yet another plan. Joe Hogsett ran for office happily sharing his record in law enforcement, a record that has left Indianapolis with 392 murders. Our neighborhoods deserve better.”
You can hear the Mayor in the Leon-Tailored Audio above. It’s in two parts. Part one is the news conference. Part two is questions from the media.
