IMPD's C.L.E.A.N. Sweep Nets 60 Arrests, Four Guns

IMPD and other government agencies conducted a targeted sweep of a high-crime area along the 30th Street corridor on Indy’s north east side Monday and Tuesday. The coordinated effort led to several arrests.

Representatives of multiple law enforcement and government agencies involved in the operation stood in front of a long blue vehicle resmbling a tour bus Tuesday morning. It served as a mobile command center beginning Monday afternoon. That's when IMPD began what it's calling it a C.L.E.A.N. sweep—that’s C-L-E-A-N, for Coordinated Law Enforcement Activity Network. The operation targeted a specific high-crime region of the city over twenty four hours—in this case the 30th Street corridor east of Meridian—using the resources of multiple agencies ranging from the FBI Clean Streets Task Force to the Marion County Health Department.

IMPD Officer Greg Brinker says access to various agencies’ resources made the effort possible.

“It is coordinating our efforts to collectively address criminals and criminal activity," Brinker says. "I think of it this way, the old proverb, ‘many hands make small work’. That’s exactly what we represent today with regard to crime here in Marion County.”

It was a blitz of sorts—the media received no prior notice. In all officers made sixty arrests and retrieved four guns. And while two of sweep’s goals were to enhance police visibility in the area and address crime head-on, addressing quality-of-life issues was another.

Drew Adams is the supervisor of the Department of Corrections Parole District number three. He says the sweep gave his agency a chance to communicate with potential reoffenders before they could reoffend.

“When they are possibly having problems with substance abuse; when they are having problems finding a job; when they feel like they’re about to lose hope--that’s when we’re able to interject at that point and hopefully head off some of those problems before they even get started," he says.

This wasn’t the first sweep of its kind. IMPD last year conducted four in the northwest district netting 144 arrests. And officials say it won’t it won’t be the last—but when they will happen is anybody’s guess.