After two record-breaking years, Indianapolis sees fewer homicides

After two consecutive years of record-breaking homicide numbers, Indianapolis saw a decrease in killings in 2022.

The city had 212 criminal homicides in 2022, a 15.87 percent decrease compared to the year before. There were 252 criminal homicides in 2021 and 215 in 2020. There were also about 13 percent fewer non-fatal shootings this past year compared to 2021.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said in a statement that while progress has been made, more work needs to be done to continue to lower the crime rate.

“This successful effort is thanks to a large-scale collaboration between city agencies, law enforcement, and grassroots organizations,” Hogsett said. “But this is no celebration. We are still not where we want to be. And we continue grieving for the families and communities who have lost individuals to senseless acts of violence.”

Last year was the first year of Hogsett’s violence reduction plan, which includes $150 million in American Rescue Plan funding. The city has also allocated money to hire more peacemakers to prevent crime from happening in the community.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department used ARP funding for new public safety cameras and license plate readers. The department continues recruitment efforts to hire more officers.

Contact WFYI criminal justice reporter Katrina Pross at kpross@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @katrina_pross.

Pross is a Corps Member of Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project.