11/11/2005
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Broad, bi-partisan group of leaders join to support police merger
INDIANAPOLIS - Mayor Bart Peterson and community leaders gathered today to reiterate their support for merging the Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) and the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.
By merging the police departments:
•Residents throughout the center city, as well as in the townships, will get better police coverage;
•The sheriff, through his appointed chief, will have authority over the operation of the new agency;
•The city and county will provide better service at a lower cost; and
•The city and county will avoid laying off 48 IPD officers and future cuts in Sheriff’s deputies.
The plan has been significantly modified since its introduction in response to substantial input by the Sheriff’s Department, other law enforcement officials, Council members and community leaders. Those changes were passed on Monday by the City-County Council’s Law Enforcement Consolidation Committee.
The full Council is scheduled to vote on the merger on Monday, November 14.
"Merging these two departments is the right thing to do, and now is the right time to do it," Mayor Peterson said. "I am confident this plan will significantly improve police services throughout the city and county and make people safer."
The Mayor was joined by:
•Former deputy mayors from the offices of previous Indianapolis mayors, including John Walls, the first deputy mayor after Unigov under Mayor Richard Lugar, John Hall, deputy mayor under Mayor Steve Goldsmith, and Carolyn Coleman, deputy mayor under Peterson;
•Former City-County Council President Dr. Beurt SerVaas;
•Roland Dorson, executive vice president, Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce;
•Marion County state legislators, including State Rep. Bill Crawford, Rep. Ed Mahern and Sen. Billie Breaux;
•Don Bailey, president of the Emerson Heights Community Organization, an eastside neighborhood association;
•Steve Sullivan, president, Metropolitan Indianapolis Board of Realtors;
•Jerry Semler, former president of One America, and chairman of Indianapolis Works Inc., a bi-partisan group of business and labor leaders who formed a non-for-profit corporation designed to support better and more efficient government services;
•Mark Lawrence, vice president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce; and
•Representatives of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee.
"The Unigov consolidation gave a huge boost toward creating the beautiful city we see all around us. Unfortunately, public safety services, arguably the most important municipal activity, were omitted from the original action," said former Deputy Mayor John Walls. "State legislators and City-County Councillors who have given us this chance to improve local government further deserve medals for statesmanship and outright bravery!"
"In 15 years as Council President, I tried to coordinate the police department and Sheriff into a single law enforcement force, which would allow us to act quickly in the presence of danger. It would also save the city millions of dollars," said former Council President Dr. Beurt SerVaas. "However, I had the same opposition the Mayor has had. The time is here to do it in Indianapolis, and the business community is near unanimous support of the unification of our security forces."
"Anyone who has lived in a city with a metropolitan police force knows that once everyone gets used to the changes, there will be greater pride in the city and within the law enforcement community growing from the increased strength, resources and support a county wide system can provide," said Don Bailey, president of the Emerson Heights Community Organization.
"This is a position the Chamber has long supported and long advocated and it represents efficiencies in service and good business practices," said Roland Dorson, executive vice president of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce. "We are very glad that our community is discussing a progressive approach to law enforcement for the 21st Century."
Public & law enforcement input. The vote comes after 16 months of intensive study, which included:
•Twelve (12) public Council committee hearings this past summer and fall;
•Four (4) public meetings of the Indianapolis Works Advisory Panel last fall;
•A series of public hearings during the Indiana General Assembly’s session earlier this year; and
•Dozens of meetings among city officials, the Sheriff’s Department, law enforcement professionals and community leaders.
Police merger also has been a topic of discussion and study in Indianapolis for the past 35 years since Unigov was passed.
Cost savings. While the full savings from consolidation will not be realized fully as a result of the open-ended process created by the Indiana General Assembly earlier this year, some savings will occur in 2006 as a result of merging purchasing and other administrative functions.
"Obviously the savings are important because they enable us to afford more officers on the streets," the Mayor added. "But more importantly, having one agency will mean a more efficient, more flexible, and overall better police force to serve and protect the citizens of Indianapolis and Marion County."
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