Shreve unveils public safety plan, calls for more gun regulations

Indianapolis Republican mayoral candidate Jefferson Shreve unveiled his public safety plan Thursday, which mirrors key elements of Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett’s strategy for firearm regulations.

Shreve’s plan includes hiring a public safety director, recruiting more officers to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and trying to change state law surrounding gun control in Marion County.

Hogsett announced updates to his own violence reduction plan in May. He introduced a proposal that was sent to the Indianapolis City-County Council that would end permitless carry, increase the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21 and ban the sale of assault weapons in Marion County. Shreve’s plan includes those same parameters.

While the City-County Council passed the proposal on Monday with an 18-5 vote, it can’t currently go into effect because Indiana state law prevents local governments from regulating firearms.

“The point in this plan, my plan, that differentiates me from Mayor Hogsett is that this will be a part of my legislative priorities that I take before our General Assembly at the start of the session in year one of the Shreve administration,” Shreve said at a press conference Thursday.

He also wants to amend an existing Indianapolis ordinance to ban the discharge of firearms within city limits and increase the penalties for doing so.

In a statement, Hogsett’s campaign manager Blake Hesch said Shreve’s plan is “not a serious set of policies.”

"We had been looking forward to a debate over Jefferson's public safety plans, but unfortunately we are still waiting for him to announce any. Today's speech was a hodgepodge of repackaged programs that already exist and meaningless platitudes,” the statement reads in part.

In 2016, Hogsett restructured the city’s public safety divisions. He eliminated the Department of Public Safety to make fire and police stand-alone departments, and created a new Office of Public Health and Safety within his administration.

Shreve said he wants to bring back the director of public safety position. He said he also intends to hire 300 additional police officers for IMPD.

IMPD has struggled with hiring and retaining police officers for years. The department announced earlier this year that it would change the recruitment and training process in an effort to get more people to join the force.

“In the Shreve administration, you will see a pivot and focus to retention and then recruitment on that talent that we need to provide our citizens that frontline public safety,” Shreve said.

Shreve’s plan also prioritizes solving cases of violent crime and the conviction of those who commit them.

“We've got to get serious about getting violent offenders off of our streets, there have to be repercussions,” Shreve said. “We must solve the violent crime and convict the guilty.”

Shreve said the root causes of crime need to be addressed.

“This city needs to direct more resources into mental health care,” he said. “With recognition that it is central to public safety.”

The election is Nov. 7. 

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.