Indy violent crime drops from 2021 peak

Homicides and violent crime rates in Indianapolis are trending downward.

In 2021, Indianapolis marked a record number of murders - 241. The city recorded 133 murders in 2025, a nearly 45% decrease. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Chris Bailey said the pandemic changed the way the department policed the city. 

“We're much more focused in our efforts to combat violent crime and crime generally. So we're focused on those small numbers of people, places, behaviors that contribute to crime,” Bailey said. 

Other measures of violent crime including, nonfatal shootings and robberies, are also down.

Bailey took over as chief in early 2024. He said much of his focus has been on the community and that has led to the improved numbers.

“Working with the community to accomplish that is important, because those are not just statistics,” he said. They are human beings and families and neighborhoods spared the tragedy that none of us want.”

Bailey pointed to the creation of the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force, a coordinated violence reduction strategy, improved technology and mental health response efforts as contributing factors to the reduction in violent crime.

The city spent millions in federal funding for grants for local grassroots groups that work on violence prevention and reduction. The funding, which often focuses on youth, will be reduced in the coming year. 

A number of high-profile incidents this past year downtown have prompted state leaders to call for better policing in Indianapolis. Bailey says downtown Indianapolis is one of the safest downtowns in the country. 

“It accounts for less than 6% of the crime in our entire city, 400 square miles, 900,000 people. Millions of people pour in and out of downtown every single year, and they go home the way that they came,” he said, “but perception matters.”

Moving into 2026 IMPD will focus on carrying out a a five-year strategic plan.

Contact WFYI managing city editor Jill Sheridan at jsheridan@wfyi.org.