Indianapolis On The Leading Edge of Community & Police Partnerships
By: Lyman B. Rhodes, II, Director, Indianapolis Commission On African-American Males (ICAAM)
Indianapolis, unlike some urban cities, is genuinely concerned about crime and gun violence in this community and does not turn its head on Black-on-Black crime and homicides. Unlike reports from Chicago, IL, and Minneapolis, MN, Indianapolis is collectively doing all it can to significantly reduce homicides.
The Indianapolis Commission on African-American Males (ICAAM) was created in October 1992 to address the conditions disproportionately affecting African-American males in the areas of health, family, education, employment, and criminal justice. The role of the Commission has been convening and facilitating organizations whose goals and objectives are to affect positive change in those areas.
Recently the Marion County Justice Agency agreed to become a key stakeholder for ICAAM’s Key Stakeholder Taskforce Initiative on criminal justice issues. The Stakeholder Taskforce Initiative is a systematic process involving large social service organizations, affinity groups, and the community at-large to address and resolve social and economic issues affecting African-American males as were identified by ICAAM through its 5-year strategic plan.
The Marion County Justice Agency was founded in 1986. The agency is charged with a number of duties, which include civil and criminal justice, centralized data processing, pre-trial release and monitoring, warrant service, coordination of crime policy for Marion County, and a number of additional justice-related activities that are established by Indianapolis-Marion County Ordinance.
For a long time now, ICAAM has been concerned about the amount of Black-on- Black crime and homicides in Indianapolis. Although the numbers are encouraging and decreasing, there is still much work to be done.
The percentage of homicides in Marion County/Indianapolis involving firearms has gone down since 1997, with a slight rise from 2001 to 2002. In 1997, the percentage was 79%. In 2002, the percentage was 72%. The lowest number came in 2001, with 70% of homicides involving a firearm.
The percentage of Black male homicide victims has gone down as well from 1997 to 2002, with a rise in 2001. In 1997, 58% of homicide victims were African-American. In 2002, African-American males made up 50% of homicide victims, which were 54 victims out of 109. The highest percentage of African-American male homicide victims, 65%, was seen in 2001.
The percentage of Black male homicide suspects has decreased as well during the same time frame. In 1997, African-American males made up 50% of homicide suspects. In 2002, that number had decreased to 36%. This number could change as cases are tried in the courts.
Everyone agrees that crime and gun violence is a serious problem. Residents of every city have the same request-safer streets. But are city leaders listening? It depends on what city you are in. News articles in Chicago and Minneapolis have stated that their city leaders are not getting the message.
First, not since 1967, have there been fewer than 600 homicides in Chicago. When looking at these numbers, one has to assume the outrage over the murder rate is not what it should be. From an article that appeared in the Chicago Tribune on November 24, 2002 entitled "Chicago's Tolerance For Murder", states that one of the reasons for this uncaring attitude is the idea of “them” versus “us”. Fewer than 7% of homicide victims in Chicago in 2001 were white.
Secondly, the same uncaring attitude toward crime by and against African-Americans can also be seen in Minneapolis, MN. As appeared in a blotter story on December 4, 2002 in Minneapolis entitled, "Minneapolis Has Impotent Law Enforcement Bureaucracy". For instance, on November 22, 2002, 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards was struck and killed by a stray bullet from some local gangsters gun while she was indoors studying with her younger sister. When asked to explain how something like this could happen, the Minneapolis police chief said, “This is just another case of someone who’s mad at somebody else, firing shots”.
Indianapolis, on the other hand, does not view Black-on-Black crime in the same way as Chicago and Minneapolis. Many community groups are working along with government to try and find ways to end the violence that plagues our streets.
A major player in reducing violence on the streets of Indianapolis is the Indianapolis Violence Reduction Partnership (IVRP). IVRP involves every local, state, and federal criminal justice agency serving Marion County. IVRP also works with a variety of crucial community partners including ICAAM, Ten Point Coalition, Weed and Seed, Westside Ministers, and neighborhood leaders throughout the city.
Another group working to help end violence is 100 Black Men of Indianapolis. Along with the Indianapolis Commission on African-American Males (ICAAM), the 100 works on the front end of the violence problem by working with city youth to head off criminal behavior at an early age. Recently ICAAM, in partnership with 100 Black Men, took 94 youth from their Scholastic Basketball program to the Ruth Lilly Health Center to hear presenters from IPD, the Sheriff’s office, the FBI, the United States Attorney’s office, Juvenile Court, and an ex-offender who has turned his life around. Each presenter talked about negative behaviors, what those behaviors lead to, how those behaviors are dealt with in the criminal justice system, and possible future careers in the criminal justice field for the young people if they stay out of trouble.
Many community groups collaborate with one another and the police to reduce gun violence. This collaboration allows for forums to pull together strategies to fight crime.
These strategies involve churches, the jails and courts, neighborhood groups and the police department. Churches encourage members to walk the streets at night and talk to people to find out what their issues are and encourage them and direct them to support. Also mentors go into the jails and work with youth and adults that are involved in the court system. A relationship with local police and community has been developed to identify areas of concern. These collaborations allow for a sharing of information about the community and the individuals most prone to violence and their locations.
How has the city supported these actions? The mayor’s office and police department have provided much support throughout the community and encourages citizen participation. The Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC), a division of the Mayor’s office, hosts the monthly meetings of the Race Relations Leadership Network (RRLN). The mission of the RRLN is to: 1) Identify race relations issues in our city, 2) Inform leadership of the race relations issues in our city, and 3) Identify and implement possible solutions to real and potential race relations issues in our city. RRLN has also provided major leadership support in the revamping of the Citizens Police/ Complaint process of the City’s Department of Public Safety. Haven said all of this; there is always a need for more support, more manpower, and more financial resources in order to be more effective in reducing crime in our neighborhoods.
There are many more groups in Indianapolis working to reduce violence, too many to name. Have their efforts been successful in reducing violence and specifically violence among African-Americans? Yes, and this local success has not gone unnoticed nationally.
IVRP is being used as a model for Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN), which is a comprehensive, strategic approach to reducing gun violence in America. The goal of this national campaign is to create safer communities by using every available means to reduce gun violence and sustain that reduction. PSN will accomplish this goal by networking with existing programs that target gun crime and providing those programs with the additional tools necessary to be successful.
We are proud of the fact that elected officials, appointed officials, and community leaders are involved in this fight and are not turning their heads on, nor willing to ignore any amount of Black-on-Black crime. We realize that they cannot do it all without help from the total community. Neighborhood associations, individual citizens, community leaders, the faith community, and businesses must continue to be involved in the fight against crime, violence, and homicides in our community. For more information about how you can get involved, please call Lyman Rhodes, ICAAM Director at: 327-5775 or visit the ICAAM website at: www.ICAAM.org. You may also call Jason Hutchens, IVRP Project Coordinator at: 327-3131 and visit the PSN website at: www.psn.gov.