Indianapolis Public Safety And Criminal Justice Committee Considers Proposals To Increase Equity

A proposal headed to the City-County Council could determine how grant funding is dispersed to neighborhoods.

The Indianapolis Public Safety and Criminal Justice committee met Wednesday to discuss the possible change and another proposal linked to one of the targets of the ongoing racial justice protests in the city -- the Citizens Police Complaint Board.

The so-called Community Recovery Plan would use data from the The Polis Center at IUPUI to map out the 25 city districts and the indicators within each area that influence social determinants of violence. These crime predictors include the rates of unemployment, single parent families, education attainment, and neighborhood segregation.

Committee Chairman Leroy Robinson (D-District 1) said councilors could use this information to allocate grant funding in their district if the proposal is eventually approved.

"This is how the government should operate,” Robinson said. “Government should operate using data and provide resources where the needs are.”

The recovery plan proposal would use $1.25 million already budgeted for public safety funds.

Republican councilors spoke against it. Minority Leader Brian Mowery (R-District 25) questioned whether councilors were prepared to decide where public safety funds should go in their districts based on this data.

"Is there training for the councilors, are there resources for the councilors?" Mowery said.

The 30-year-old Citizens Police Complaint Board is the focus of another proposal considered by the committee. Under possible changes, a complainant would have 120 days, instead of 60 days, to file a grievance with the board.

The proposal would also allow the complainant to speak at hearing, add an independent investigator to the process and create an online portal for the public to access information about the board.

Councilor Jared Evans (D-District 22) spoke in support of the changes.

"This is what I think a lot of citizens have a problem with government," Evans said. "If it’s public record, why not make it easily accessible to the citizens of this city."

Both proposals passed the committee and will go to the full council next month.