Indy gains million-dollar grant to help address gun violence
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — You could feel a sense of excitement inside Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on Tuesday.
News broke that the department would receive help in tackling violent criminals. President Donald Trump’s administration is pouring money into cities to tackle gun violence.
Indianapolis applied for the grant. IMPD will receive about $800,000, and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will receive about $200,000.
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will use its grant to address the glut of gun case investigations.
IMPD will use the funds to analyze gun crimes, with attempts to identify a shooter. The funding will attempt to sustain a program that will pay for civilian analysis.
“The sole focus is to identify those serial shooters and try to stop the shooting cycle by taking the gun and person off the street,” said Chris Bailey, IMPD’s deputy chief of investigations.
According to IMPD, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the police department had received part of the grant on Monday in front of public safety leaders from around the country in Birmingham, Alabama. IMPD Chief Bryan Roach and U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler were there for the announcement.
The grant will keep officers on the street to focus on crime, while civilian analysts will review gun violence to see if the crimes are connected.
“We are not going to have police officers, sworn police officers who could be out protecting your community, sitting behind … desks and a computer and looking at the science behind things,” Bailey said.
Those hired for the positions will have previous experience.
