IMPD's Continued Summer Strategy To Reduce Crime

Discussions continue on how to curb the violence in Indianapolis during the summer months.

City officials met Monday to talk about a continuation of IMPD’s community policing model that aims to reduce violent crime by engaging community members to help find solutions.

“We understand that this is not only a law enforcement problem, it’s a community program," says Police Chief Bryan Roach. "We wanted to get together the people that understand their community in order to help us and for us to help them so it’s more than a collaborative effort.”

Roach says each one of the IMPD districts created community councils.

Police district community meetings started last week.  The idea is to develop and share information and ideas with other districts.

Commander Josh Barker of the north district says they continue to build on community partnerships.

“Maintaining a dialogue with community members, business leaders and stakeholders to make sure it’s not just numbers we are focusing on, but it’s impactful investigations that are going after the specific people, places and activities that are leading and kind of driving some of that violence across the district,” Barker says.

He cites that since September of 2016, community relations officers have been working with the Enclave apartments, a location that has been plaqued by drug deals and shootings. 

A recent raid at the apartment complex resulted in several arrests that uncovered drugs and weapons.

“These type of investigations promote the importance of establishing those relationships with community members before a problem becomes a crisis,” Barker says.

In ongoing efforts to reduce crime, city officials say they will also continue to focus on the engagement of local youth, especially in the summer months, through advocacy, community initiatives, and programs like the summer jobs program.