Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis leaders credit reduced total of homicides in 2022, 2023 to gun strategy
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis government leaders on Thursday touted a 31% decrease in the number of criminal homicides in the city over the last two years.
Democrat Mayor Joe Hogsett said the decrease is due in part to the successes of the city’s three-year plan to reduce gun violence. “Those statistics mean, in real terms, equates to 81 lives having been saved,” he said.
During the same two years, the city noted a 20% decrease in the number of nonfatal shootings.
The leaders cited a strategy to reduce gun violence that was funded with $150 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, federal money set aside for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The money was spent on new police technology and more officers, and shared with grassroots violence-prevention organizations.
The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform say a part of the city’s plan that has worked the best was focusing on preventing retaliation shootings. Every week, police analyze the people who are most likely to retaliate to a previous shooting.
David Muhammad, director of the institute, said, “Some of those individuals identified will have focused enforcement on them. I mentioned the 100 officers who are focused on this. Some of them (the individuals) haven’t done anything illegal but are making threats to retaliate for their friends’ shooting online, and they have the risk factors that say they might actually retaliate.”
When people haven’t committed a crime but threaten retaliation, the Indy Peace Fellowship steps in with on-the-street “peacemakers” funded through the plan.
Muhammad said, “The level of finding those individuals, engaging them, and getting them to agree to be in this fellowship to have a life coach for the next six, 12, 18 months that has been particularly successful.”
Outside of this plan, Hogsett said the community as a whole also deserves credit. “They are stepping up to provide jobs, mentorships, education, and other resources that contribute to that No. 1 crime deterrent: prosperity.”
While the decrease is good, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department leader thinks there is still a long way to go. Chief Randal Taylor said, “We know that really our work is far from over. We’re going to have to really look at our youth violence. We’re going to have to look at how many children have access to firearms and how do we deal with that.”
The American Rescue Plan Act funding has dried up for the strategy, but the mayor says his office will work with the City-County Council to get more funding it in the years to come.
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is under a heat advisory with temperatures in the 90s throughout the week.
Many cooling centers will open throughout the state for those that need to find relief from the heat. Hoosiers looking to find cooling centers in their area can contact Indiana 211. To learn more, call 211 or (866) 211-9966.
Avaliable cooling centers can also be found by clicking here.
Marion County
For those living in Indianapolis, Indy Parks has several cooling centers across the city.
Those Cooling Centers are:
- Broad Ripple Park Family Center
- Brookside Park Family Center
- Christian Park Family Center
- Frederick Douglass Park Family Center
- Garfield Park Burrello Family Center
- Krannert Park Family Center
- Grassy Creek Environmental Education Center
- Pride Park Family Center
- Rhodius Park Family Center
- Riverside Park Family Center
- Stanley Strader Park Family Center
- Washington Park Family Center
- Windsor Park Family Center
- Watkins Park Family Center
- Thatcher Park Family Center
For addresses and hours of operations of these cooling centers, click here.
Beech Grove will also have two cooling Centers for residents starting Monday, June 29. Those hours and locations are:
- Beech Grove Senior Center, 602 Main St
- 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday
- Hornet Park Community Center, 5245 Hornet Ave
- 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday through Friday
Other Central Indiana Cooling Centers
For addresses and hour of operations of cooling centers below, click here.
Marion
- St. Martin Community Center
- Grant County Family YMCA
- Grant County Rescue Mission
Kokomo
- The Kokomo Rescue Mission
- The Excel Center in Kokomo
Peru
- Community Resource Center
- Miami County Courthouse
- Miami County Health Department
- Miami County YMCA
- Peru City Hall
- Peru Public Library
- Peru Schools Administration Building
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — The National Weather Service out of Indianapolis has issued a Heat Advisory for all of Central Indiana and a High Heat Warning for parts of northern Indiana. The Advisory and Warning will go into effect at 12 PM on Monday and will run through 8 PM Thursday.
WRTV
A Heat Advisory means that temperatures in the 90s with dew points in the 70s, will lead to Heat Index values reaching 106. Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses.
Stay cool:
Drink plenty of fluids, check up on relatives and neighbors, and stay in an air-conditioned room when possible. If outside for extended periods of time, make sure to take frequent breaks in the shade as much as you can.
TODAY
Patchy fog early gives way to a partly sunny, warmer, and much less active day. Highs reach the mid to upper 80s, with a light south breeze around 5 mph. After the unsettled Saturday, this looks like a far more usable day for outdoor plans, with most of central Indiana staying dry from start to finish.
TONIGHT
Mostly clear early, then becoming partly to mostly cloudy toward daybreak. Lows hold in the low 70s, with a light south southeast breeze around 5 mph. Humidity stays elevated overnight, but quiet weather continues and there are no meaningful travel concerns.
TOMORROW
Mostly sunny and hot with highs pushing into the low 90s. A south southwest breeze around 5 to 10 mph keeps the air moving, but the bigger story is the heat and humidity building in. Heat index values around or above 100 are possible during the afternoon, so outdoor plans will need extra water and more breaks.
TOMORROW NIGHT
Mostly clear and warm, with lows around the mid 70s and a light south southwest breeze. There will be very little cooling after sunset, and the muggy feel hangs on through the night. Dry weather remains in place.
TUESDAY
Sunny and even hotter, with highs in the low to mid 90s and a light southwest breeze around 5 mph. This is another day where heat becomes the main impact, and it will not take long to feel it during the afternoon. Outdoor work and summer activities will need to be paced carefully.
TUESDAY NIGHT
Clear and warm again, with lows in the mid 70s and a light southwest wind. The air remains sticky overnight, and there is still no meaningful rain signal for Indianapolis.
WEDNESDAY
Mostly sunny and hot, with highs in the low to mid 90s. Wind stays light, becoming south southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Heat remains the main concern, and another uncomfortable summer afternoon is expected across central Indiana.
7 DAY FORECAST
After Saturday’s leftover storm chances fade away, the pattern flips quickly toward heat and humidity. Sunday looks quieter and warmer, then Monday through at least Wednesday trend hot with highs in the 90s and heat index values over 100 possible at times. Rain chances stay very low through midweek, with the next better opportunity for showers and storms showing up later Thursday into Friday. Overall, the bigger concern after tonight becomes summer heat rather than repeated storm chances.
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