Indianapolis’ Year of Violence

The city of Indianapolis recently broke it’s all-time homicide record on November 27, 2021. A man identified as Vaughn Islom was fatally shot in the south side, breaking the record of 245 homicides that was set last year. The number stands at 246, the highest Indianapolis has seen in a single year. 

The number of homicides has been increasing steadily over the last 10 years. There was a dip in 2019, then followed by a steep increase of murder in 2020 and 2021. According to an IndyStar homicide data analysis, the longest streak without any homicides this year was only nine days. IndyStar also reported that “Indianapolis’ killings keep climbing.” 

Homicides done out of self defense, justified shootings done by police, and accidental killings do not count as criminal homicides, therefore they do not contribute to the 246 murders. 

Chicago was once considered the most violent city in the Midwest, and now it has been surpassed by Indianapolis. Indianapolis’ rate of murder stands at 10.6 per 100,000 residents, higher than Chicago and various other regional U.S cities. After being compared with homicide rates of seven other cities in May, Indianapolis stood in the middle of the results. 

In May, Indianapolis’ murder rate was roughly 30% higher than it was the year prior. At this point in the year the city was on a path to approach 300 homicides by the end of 2021. Fortunately, this number was not attained. 

Shonna Majors, Indianapolis’ first violence reduction director, resigned earlier this year amid the violence. Her role was created in 2018 by Mayor Joe Hogsett as part of Indianapolis’ first violence reduction team. All the killings in the city took a toll on Majors, which led her to resign. “There’s only so much murder people can take mentally and emotionally,” reported Majors. It also doesn’t help that she took on this role in some of the city’s deadliest years. 

Both Hogsett and Majors believe COVID-19 has been a factor in the continued violence. Majors additionally reported that the pandemic has had an impact on violence prevention work. In an interview with IndyStar, IMPD Chief Randal Taylor also suggested COVID-19 may be one of the root causes of violence in the story. 

Originally, when the pandemic first began to spread the homicide rate dropped. COVID regulations intensified, which kept a lid on the city violence. Nonetheless, as months passed and positive cases went up, so did the homicide rate. “As the pandemic wanes, are those numbers going to go down automatically?” Taylor questioned. 

COVID-19 isn’t the only cause for all the violence though. Drugs, gun violence, poor living conditions, and lack of resources in the community are among other reasons. 

The state of homicide rates at the end of 2021 were frustrating. It was disappointing that the city had already reached the record with only weeks left. If COVID-19 cases decline and there is a new violence reduction director, there may be hope for 2022.