INDIANAPOLIS — Violent crime is down in Indianapolis, but homicides skyrocketed in 2020.
With 250 people killed by another person in the Capital City last year, that’s a spike of 40-percent compared to years past. They are investing in what they are calling “violence interrupters”, people who know the streets of the city and have relationships with people who may be at risk of committing acts of violence.
“We want to catch you before you end up in the justice system,” said Shane Shepherd, one of those violence interrupters, to WISH-TV. “Truth be told, some people are destined for that because there is no turning them. We want to turn the turnable ones, so to speak.”
The city is investing in training people like Shepherd who know the streets of Indianapolis to build up relationships with at-risk young adults in order to head any violent acts off before they happen.
Shepherd is one of six people the city is training right now through the Indy Public Safety Foundation.
Shonna Majors, director of community violence reduction for the city government, says interrupters have already. She hopes their work will formally begin next week. Majors hopes to grow the program by seeking public funding or private donations in order to hire more interrupters.
