Indianapolis Mayoral Candidate Jefferson Shreve announced his public safety plan aimed at restoring safety and curbing violent crime in Indianapolis. Shreve was joined by leaders from the faith community, business owners and residents of Indianapolis.

“Crime is rampant in our city and it calls for systemic change. Over the last two months, I’ve met with residents in neighborhoods across Indianapolis, city leaders and members of the state legislature to develop an actionable plan to make our city safe again, and I will start on day one when I take office,” Shreve said.

Shreve’s public safety plan has the following core principles.

  1. Appoint a public safety director who will start on the first day of the Shreve administration. This person’s sole focus will be the security of lives and property. Every mayor in Indianapolis since UniGov, except Joe Hogsett, has had a dedicated public safety director.

  2. Hire 300 IMPD officers to fill all budgeted positions and ensure they have the training and support to do their jobs. With a fully staffed force, officers can engage in proactive policing and get violent offenders off Indianapolis’ streets.

  3. Implement an aggressive strategy to combat gun violence. Shreve proposes amending Indianapolis’ firearm discharge ordinance and will work with the state legislature to give Indianapolis responsibility for setting its own policy on firearms. Specifically, Shreve will ask for authority to raise the age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21, require a permit to carry and ban assault weapons in Indianapolis.

  4. Get serious about getting violent offenders off our streets. We must actually solve cases of violent crime and convict the guilty parties. Eight years ago, IMPD’s solve rate was 80%; today it’s closer to 30%.

  5. Address root-cause issues of crime, including more mental health resources.

  6. Hold people accountable. Shreve will take personal responsibility for the results of his plan and provide transparency into every aspect of Indianapolis’ public safety, including the actions of police, the prosecutor and criminal court justices.

“Unlike Joe Hogsett, who has been absent throughout his administration and waited seven and a half years to announce a plan to combat Indianapolis’ epidemic of violent crime, my plan comes just two months after I won the primary election,” Shreve said. “When I’m your mayor, I will take personal responsibility for our city’s public safety results.”

The full details of Shreve’s public safety plan are available here.

You can here Shreve in the audio above.