Lawmakers aim to restrict access to meth ingredients
The leaders of Indiana communities hit hard by methamphetamine are arguing for a state law requiring prescriptions to buy cold and allergy pills.
Crime
Articles
Pence’s $51M prison expansion proposal met by skepticism
The proposal comes just months after Indiana's criminal sentencing laws changed in part to reduce the need for more prison space.
Sheriffs: Mentally ill people swamping Indiana jails
County jails have become the "insane asylum" for Indiana as state hospital care for the mentally ill has declined, a sheriff told a legislative committee in Indianapolis on Monday.
Indiana State Police turn to online recruiting
The agency has posted a one-minute video outlining the minimum requirements necessary to apply to be a state police officer.
Ballard proposes $50M preschool program as part of crime initiative
Mayor Greg Ballard on Wednesday proposed a 5-year program to pay for preschool for 4-year-olds from low-income families. He also floated hiring another 280 police officers. The cost to the average household would be $86 per year.
Security to be tight at Expo this weekend
Indianapolis officials are taking extra steps to ensure safety at Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration in a year that has seen a surge in homicides.
City to barricade Broad Ripple street to help curb violence
Indianapolis officials plan to close a two-block portion of Broad Ripple Avenue to motor vehicles on Friday and Saturday nights for the rest of the summer.
Democratic city-county councilors want police to live inside county
IMPD officers are not required to live in the city, and about 240, or 16 percent of the force, choose to reside elsewhere. Many of the city’s highest-crime neighborhoods have the fewest police officers as residents.
Counties worry about cost of criminal code changes
Sweeping changes to Indiana's criminal code took effect Tuesday that will send more low-level, nonviolent criminals to community corrections programs and jails instead of state prisons.
Democrats want more cops living in tough neighborhoods
A proposal unveiled today would allow officers to live rent-free in new or refurbished houses and then allow the officers to buy the homes.
Lawmakers to tackle molesting, shoplifting at corrections day
Lawmakers will also fix a section of that law dealing with shoplifting and theft. The change will clarify that a store owner or security personnel can detain an individual for shoplifting for two hours.
Indianapolis to host national anti-violence summit
Indianapolis' near-record homicide rate has prompted the U.S. attorney to schedule a summit where public safety leaders from Detroit, Chicago, Gary and other urban areas can share the strategies they've used for reducing killings.
Not-for-profit leader faces tax evasion, perjury charges
Byron Alston, a high-profile employee of the anti-crime Ten Point Coalition and founder of the not-for-profit group Save the Youth, Inc., is facing four felony counts of tax evasion and one count of perjury after an investigation led by the Marion County Prosecutor's Office.
Criminal code update pleases some, worries others
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said the bill “has been a long time coming” and will provide “sentencing reform that really has been sorely needed.”
Indianapolis leaders tout plan to curb violence
Last year, the city shifted 100 officers to patrol duty to help combat crime. Despite that, Indianapolis suffered 125 homicides in 2013, its highest tally in seven years.
City-County Council approves ‘ban the box’ proposal
The Indianapolis City-County Council passed a "ban the box" ordinance by a wide margin Monday night. The ordinance says the city and its contractors may not use prior criminal convictions as a screening tool in hiring.
Ballard, Curry split on gun-violence bill
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry opposes a measure that would create a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence for crimes committed with a firearm. Mayor Greg Ballard and his public safety director support it.
Some attorneys not sold on proposed justice complex
Moving the Marion County Jail, courts and other criminal justice functions to a consolidated site outside of downtown could gut businesses in the Mile Square and play havoc with legal offices, attorneys say.
City inviting proposals for new courts-jail complex
Marion County criminal-justice complex project could rival Indianapolis airport terminal in cost, entail public-private financing deal.
HETRICK: You can’t achieve velocity with one foot on the brake
People want not only to visit downtown, but also to live there. But if we are not regarded for livability, how can Indianapolis thrive?