Indiana Southern District receives $5.6M to fight violent crime

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Indiana has received more than $5 million in federal funding to combat violent crime, including money designated for curbing crime in Indianapolis, where annual homicides have reached record levels.

United States Attorney Josh Minkler of the Southern District of Indiana announced Monday that agencies across the Southern District were awarded roughly $5.63 million in grant funding from the Department of Justice. Indiana’s award is part of a national initiative that allocated $458 million to fighting and preventing violent crime across the United States.

“Recent data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the FBI suggests a drop in crime and serious victimization for the third straight year,” Minkler said in a news release. “But even with this encouraging news, we find cities like Indianapolis experiencing an unacceptable increase in homicides. These funds will help in the fight against violent crime and improve assistance to victims, community engagement, and reentry efforts.”

The grants — which were awarded by the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs — will be allocated among five organizations across Indiana’s Southern District:

  • $587,726 to Vanderburgh County (Justice Reinvestment Initiative: Reducing Violent Crime by Improving Justice System Performance).
  • $250,000 to the city of Indianapolis (Operation Legend).
  • $1,425,879 to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute/Indiana Supreme Court, Office of Technology (National Instant Background Check System (NICS) Act Record Improvement Program).
  • $3 million to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute/Indiana State Police (National Criminal History Improvement Program).
  • $364,038 to the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (Project Safe Neighborhoods).

“One of the fundamental missions of government is to protect its citizens and safeguard the rule of law,” U.S. Attorney General William Barr said in a news release. “The Department of Justice will continue to meet this critical responsibility by doing everything within its power to help our state, local and tribal law enforcement and criminal justice partners fight crime and deliver justice on behalf of all Americans.”

Barr came to Indianapolis last month to discuss Operation Legend, a nine-city initiative designed to combine federal, state and local law enforcement resources to combat violent crime. The initiative began Indianapolis in August in a year when the Circle City has so far exceeded 200 homicides.

Barr offered public remarks Oct. 22 before a working lunch with Minkler, Indianapolis Police Chief Randal Taylor and other local law enforcement representatives.

Violent crime is up nationally, Barr said, a fact he attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and to what he called the “demonization” of law enforcement. But through Operation Legend, a total of 216 crime guns, 1,731 grams of heroin and 27,644 grams of methamphetamine have been confiscated in Indianapolis, Minkler said. Also, 88 fugitives have been arrested, including 15 wanted for homicide, 14 wanted for robbery and eight wanted for sexual assault.

Though the streets of the Circle City are not as safe as they could or should be, Minkler insisted that because of Operation Legend, “our streets are safer.”

The OJP had awarded a total of $8.9 million to Operation Legend as of Oct. 30. The full list of federal grant funding can be read here.

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