Indianapolis Chief Makes Case For Witness Protection Program

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis police chief says a witness protection program is needed to help prosecute violent crime.

Chief Bryan Roach told members of an Indianapolis City-County Council committee Wednesday that witnesses and victims feel unsafe. He says: "More and more the public who are engaged in violence have a feeling that they can get away with it."

Roach is among supporters of a proposal to use $300,000 to create a witness protection program. The committee sent the proposal to the full council for consideration as early as Jan. 29.

The Indianapolis Star reports discussion of the program comes as the number of people killed in Indianapolis has grown every year since 2012. The newspaper says the percentage of cases that lead to arrests, meanwhile, has declined to below 50 percent.