INDIANAPOLIS–The Mayor of Indianapolis urges you to have patience when it comes to letting peacemakers do their jobs in helping bring down the violence in his city.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett spoke Wednesday at the Community Alliance of the Far Eastside (CAFE) to highlight its partnership with the Office of Public Health and Safety’s (OPHS) peacemakers program. He also met with some of the 41 Peacemakers his administration has hired. He hopes to have 50 hired by the summer.
“These individuals are charged with the responsibility of identifying those who are at highest risk of falling into cycles of crime, or those who are at highest risk of being victimized by crime. Gun violence continues to be a challenge, and the peacemakers are a part of the resolution. Adding additional police officers will help, [as will] the investments we are making in anti-violence and crime prevention,” said Hogsett.
Hogsett’s tour was about a mile from Dubarry Park, where two teenage boys were recently shot and killed. Not long after that shooting was brought up at his tour, Hogsett acknowledged the city has a long way to go. He also knows he needs help.
“If we are to get to a point where homicides are no longer the operative story of the day, it is going to take more than the mayor, more than the police chief, more than IMPD, more than the Peacemakers, more than CAFÉ. Believe me, it takes all those people working together. At the family level, at the mentorship level, people need to step forward and make a difference in their community. Its going to take an entire community for us to address the challenges of gun violence in Indianapolis.”
On March 9, 2021, the year-to-date homicide total was 45, on the way to a record of 271. Today, that number stands at 38.
