City officials to hold first public safety meeting Thursday evening

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A new look at public safety in Indianapolis starts Thursday night, with the first of several public meetings with city leaders. City officials plan to show research taken right from the community.

The city has been asking for public feedback for weeks. They launched an online survey in early July asking for help to determine the current state of public safety in Indianapolis.

The survey is a partnership with the NYU School of Law Criminal Justice lab, which was announced in June.

Mayor Joe Hogsett says it’s important to listen to residents and take note of changes they are expecting.

Deputy Mayor Dr. David Hampton will emcee the conversation and hopes community members will take part by giving input on policy and safety priorities.

“We need transparency and we need to talk about the real issues that we face as a nation and here locally that can be changed,” he said. “We want to know what citizens think IMPD is doing well and what they think can be done better. and we want to have that open and honest conversation so that the necessary changes can be made through the conversation.”

The online survey is available until Aug. 31. Anyone can access it by going to the city website at indy.gov.

Several members of the city-county council will take part in the first meeting, which will be held virtually at 5:30 p.m. to allow for broad participation and social distancing in light of COVID-19.

The meeting will include some of the results of that first survey.

The dates of the next sessions will be announced at a later time.