Tanya Terry Sworn in as Indianapolis’ First Female Police Chief

INDIANAPOLIS–Indianapolis has appointed its first female police chief, Tanya Terry, a 27-year veteran of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Terry was sworn in Monday morning.

She was sworn in by Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett.

“Tanya has played a vital role in the impressive crime reductions that IMPD has delivered to our city for four consecutive years. I have every confidence in the world that as Chief, she will bring more progress to Indianapolis,” Hogsett stated.

Chief Terry outlined her guiding principles and emphasized her commitment to authenticity and community engagement. She plans to prioritize youth violence prevention and focus on retaining staff and strengthening recruiting efforts. Chief Terry says she plans on making the city safer by helping those in need while staying true to her passion for serving the public.

“Standing here today is both an honor and a responsibility that I do not take lightly,” said Terry. “To do so as the first woman to hold this position is humbling beyond words.”

She says these will be the things she’s focusing on:

-Public safety remains our top priority
-People matter.
-Trust and transparency.
-Continuing the momentum underway in the department.

In her role as deputy chief, she said she worked to connect kids with resources to keep them out of the criminal justice system and expanded a pre-arrest diversion program to the entire agency.

“While we want to ensure accountability, we also want to ensure that we’re providing what those families need to be successful and, quite frankly, keep their kids alive and out of trouble,” Terry said.

Terry succeeds Chris Bailey, who steps down to become chief of staff and chief deputy mayor to Hogsett.