INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis about to set another homicide record.
That’s according to Fraternal Order of Police President Rick Snyder, who told WIBC on Tuesday that no one group or problem is the cause of Indy’s rising murder rate.
“It is something that we, as a community, must rally together [over] and come to the table and have some serious, strong, and quite honestly tough discussions about how we are going to work together to overcome these challenges,” Snyder said.
Three more people were killed across the city Monday night, bringing this year’s total number of criminal homicides to 98.
Snyder said one of the city’s biggest problems is the practice of “catch and release” when it comes to the arrest of violent offenders.
“We have a significant number of folks that are arrested for very serious crimes, only to be released,” Snyder said. “Sometimes without ever appearing before a judge.”
Snyder also believes that granting inmates an early release from prison is a contributing factor to the increase in homicides.
“Many times, [they] probably should have been incarcerated according to those convictions, but because they were released early, they are now placed in an environment where these tragedies can occur,” he told WIBC.
A third and final problem Snyder said he sees is a “noticeable rift between law enforcement officers and regular members of the community.”
“[The police and the community] have the most in common, because they have the most invested in the success of those neighborhoods,” said Snyder. “It’s often times other outside folks or organizations that drive a wedge, or attempt to drive a wedge, between those two groups.”
Snyder said community members and police officers together need to rise above the differences that external organizations try to create.
(Photo by Chalabala/Thinkstock.)
