9/26/2007
Media Contact:
Margie Smith Simmons, 327.3690 |
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City awarded $7.25 million in grants to improve public safety dispatch, build regional crime database
Indianapolis – The city of Indianapolis was recently awarded $7.25 million in public safety grant funds from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that will reduce crime and improve public safety, Mayor Bart Peterson said today.
The grants include:
- $6 million to vastly improve public safety technology in Indianapolis and the surrounding region;
- $750,000 to beef up enforcement of protection orders; and\
- $500,000 to help solve cold cases through DNA analysis, with an emphasis on unsolved homicides.
"To aggressively battle crime in Indianapolis, it is important that our local police department is well equipped, properly trained and technologically advanced," said Peterson. "These grants will provide us with additional funding for law enforcement to further prevent, respond to and investigate crime and will make our city a safer place to live, work and raise a family."
Police technology. Indianapolis received the maximum award of $6 million from the Community Oriented Policing (COPS) technology grant initiative. The grant will allow the city to:
- Replace the current emergency dispatch system. The new computer aided dispatch (CAD) system will include better technology so that public safety vehicles are dispatched quicker and more efficiently. Through the most up-to-date computer technology, the new CAD will dispatch all law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services vehicles. Surrounding counties are invited to participate in the new CAD system, which will allow for cost savings due to pooled resources and data redundancy.
- Create a regional law enforcement database. This system will store law enforcement data, from simple traffic stops to complex criminal investigations, in a single repository for Marion and the surrounding counties. Officers will have immediate access to crime data from their vehicles which will greatly improve officer safety, as officers will know immediately if a suspect is wanted or dangerous. Additionally, criminals who move across jurisdictions can be apprehended for their crimes.
- Create a field records collection system. Officers will have the ability to electronically search the newly created regional database allowing them to identify wanted or suspicious persons while in the field. Since manual entry of traffic stops will not be necessary, this will increase efficiency of law enforcement personnel and allow for long-term cost savings.
"The COPS grant will not only bolster our crime fighting efforts here in Marion County," said Sheriff Frank J. Anderson, "but the funding will also support continued cooperation among regional law enforcement agencies. I'm also pleased IMPD's efforts to combat domestic violence and cold cases will be enhanced, as it sends a message to criminals that no crime will go unsolved in Marion County."
Enforcement of protection orders. The city also received a $750,000 award from the "Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders" program.
This effort recognizes that domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking are crimes that require the criminal justice system to hold offenders accountable for their actions through investigation, arrest and prosecution of violent offenders, and through close judicial scrutiny and management of offender behavior. Through this grant, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) and other law enforcement agencies will be able to:
- Provide domestic violence in-service training. IMPD will provide annual in-service training on domestic violence for officers and colleagues. IMPD also will consolidate the domestic violence specialty units into one specialized domestic violence unit with 20 officers based at The Julian Center, the city's non-profit partner.
- Employee domestic violence advocates. The Julian Center will employ seven community-based domestic violence advocates to work with IMPD on assisting victims early in the domestic violence cycle. Advocates will be placed in each of the six IMPD districts to support victims and link them with services.
- Hire specialized domestic violence prosecutor. The Marion County Prosecutor will employ a domestic violence prosecutor to specialize in stalking, screen misdemeanor/D felony cases for the IMPD domestic violence unit, enhance evidence collection and implement vertical prosecution. Two additional prosecutors will be added, with agency funding, and will be based at The Julian Center.
- Continue domestic violence probation sweeps. IMPD and the Probation Department will continue domestic violence probation sweeps - an enforcement tool proven effective with violent offenders in Indianapolis.
- Improve tracking systems. IMPD will continue to improve domestic violence tracking systems.
Cold cases. The city also received a $500,000 Cold Case grant to help solve cold cases through DNA analysis, with an emphasis on unsolved homicides.
IMPD's Cold Case Unit has identified over 450 cases, some dating as far back as 1959. IMPD and its partners anticipate that approximately 225 cases will have evidence that can be subjected to DNA analysis. The Cold Case grant will be directed toward this effort.
"Science and Technology are important tools in the war against crime," added Peterson. "DNA evidence plays an increasingly significant role in the identification of criminals and also has the ability to prevent future criminal activity."
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