INDIANAPOLIS - Today, Pubic Safety officials announced the formation of Central Indiana Canine Crime Stoppers, a program developed in response to the escalation of dog fighting and animal cruelty calls for service reported to Indianapolis Animal Care & Control. Central Indiana Canine Crime Stoppers is the first Crime Stopper program in the nation designed specifically for dog fighting.
“It is very important that the City take a proactive approach to dealing with this serious public safety issue,” said Robert Turner, Director of Public Safety. “The collaboration between all three agencies, Indianapolis Animal Care & Control, Central Indiana Crime Stoppers and the Indianapolis Police Department, is vital to the success of this program.”
Central Indiana Canine Crime Stoppers will allow citizens to anonymously report suspected dog fighting activity while offering a cash reward of up to $1000 for information that leads to a felony arrest utilizing the Central Indiana Crime Stopper hotline, 262-TIPS.
In 2002, the Indiana State legislature made promoting an animal fighting contest a Class D Felony. The maximum penalty for a Class D felony is 3 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine; the minimum penalty is 6 months imprisonment and no fine.
In addition to a logo and 4-color brochure designed specifically for this program to assist the community in clearly identifying the goal and message of the program, Central Indiana Canine Crime Stoppers will follow-up the promotion with a billboard campaign in the area that has generated the most dog fighting and animal cruelty calls for service. The boundaries of the concentrated area are: N: 46th St., S: 10th St., E: Arlington Ave., W: College Ave.
To more adequately address the issue, promotional materials will be printed in Spanish to further the communication and partnership with the Latino community.