Key Police Legislation Under Discussion, FOP Says
INDIANAPOLIS — Rick Snyder, president of the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police, spoke Thursday about several pieces of legislation the union has testified on this session, saying they could have a “tremendous impact” on Marion County and law enforcement across Indiana.
“There are a few pieces of legislation that stand to have a tremendous impact upon a multitude of issues specific to Marion County, but also for law enforcement officers around the state of Indiana,” Snyder said.
He highlighted a measure that would let voters change the state constitution’s rules on bail.
“The primary one is the ongoing process for this legislation, which revolves around the constitutional amendment on bail,” he said. “This legislative session was the second of the two consecutive sessions that had to occur where this was passed to now appear on the ballot for voters to form a referendum vote on amending the Indiana state constitution.”
The referendum is expected to appear on the ballot in fall 2026.
“We want to strongly encourage voters to please consider supporting this change — this amendment to the constitution — which will give judges and courts the ability to hold criminal violent offenders, especially repeat violent offenders, for crimes other than murder and treason as the current constitution states,” he said.
He also spoke about legislation that focuses on civilian oversight of police. The measure would limit the power of civilian boards that could override existing police merit boards, which handle internal policies and discipline.
“This is a bill that we testified upon that deals with the issue of civilian oversight boards that have been created to do an end run, if you will, and mitigate the authority of merit boards, which are established by current Indiana state law,” he said.
He cited Indianapolis’ General Orders Board as an example.
“Indianapolis has a specific example of the General Orders Board that is in effect right now, which has binding authority over the chief of police as it relates to setting policy for our professional police officers,” he said.
While saying the FOP welcomes community input, he raised concerns about policy authority.
“Our goal is to have a single point of accountability, while at the same time not preventing civilian input into our policies and our practices. We welcome that. We think it’s vital and important,” he said. “However, we think it is a misstep to allow folks with very little or no training to set the actual policy and training for law enforcement officers.”
He urged Gov. Mike Braun to sign the measure.
“We strongly encourage Gov. Braun to sign this piece of legislation into law,” he said.
The FOP president also discussed legislation that addresses outdoor camping and homeless encampments on public property.
