IMPD: New numbers show gun violence going down in Indianapolis
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — After a violent Fourth of July weekend, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is providing some hope.
New numbers provided by IMPD show homicides are down by nearly 10% this year compared to this same time last year.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said Tuesday, “The state of Indiana expressly prohibits local units of government from having any authority, any authority, to have greater gun safety restrictions, greater common sense gun safety laws on the books than are permitted by state law. It is incredibly frustrating.”
According to IMPD, 114 homicides have happened so far this year. I-Team 8 is finding at least 95 of those homicides were a result of gun violence. At this time last year, there were 127 homicides.
The Democrat mayor says the city is pouring in an additional $45 million to be split over three years to go toward grassroots organizations combating gun violence. Hogsett says the city is also spending $9 million on hiring 200 more police officers and $30 million on mental health resources. Still, Hogsett says, the money only goes so far.
The state laws “in my estimation don’t go far enough to do anything that would get the guns out of the hands of people who have no business possessing them,” Hogsett said.
IMPD says the number of nonfatal shootings have decreased by 11% this year.
Hogsett will be announcing which grassroots organizations have received additional city funding as well as how to apply for it on Wednesday.