Indianapolis, Indiana – The surge in violent crime cases during the past years is present in almost every state across the country and Indiana is one of them. According to the Indianapolis local authorities, the violent crime has increased in the city area during the past year and they seize weapons almost on a daily basis.
WRTV investigated the issue first hand and they presented the report to the public.
“We do definitely feel like it never stops,” said Douglas Boxler, Marion County Crime Lab Firearms Section Supervisor. “If we get too far behind, we get behind really fast.”
This year authorities are close the last year’s number of seized weapons despite the fact we are only July. The latest data shows that as of now, Indianapolis authorities recovered 2.442 firearms which is pretty closed to the last year’s number of 3,090 recovered firearms.
Authorities sound the alarm as the number is of seized weapons is similar, but we are still only July.
“Seizing crime guns out of the hands of perpetrators of gun violence is a focus of IMPD,” said Major Matthew Thomas, IMPD criminal investigations division.
The satiation is very serious since authorities bring weapons to be examined almost every day in the lab. Every single piece of weapon is examined in details, fired and photographed. Weapons are checked if they have been used in another crime prior to be added in the database. Lab workers take microscopic photo of the casings before being entered into a database.
The public is worried about the public safety and they seem to be right. Since the lab was opened and the procedure for inspecting was put into place in 2018, the number is increasing every year. According to the lab statistics, in the very first year of operation the lab was able to identify evidence that resulted with 435 leads. In their second year in 2019, this number rose to 924 and in 2020 to 1,099. So far this year, this number already surpassed last year’s number of cases reaching 1,246.
“That’s a good sign that we are connecting the pieces,” Thomas said.
This can be the key, police say, to unlocking another violent crime.
“An unwitnessed homicide may link to a case where there’s a witness shooting,” Boxler said.
“We are able to connect multiple cases, resolve multiple cases,” Thomas added.
The lab that is inspecting the weapons is essential for the police and public safety. They help law enforcement to get the weapons and the suspect out of the streets before someone else gets hurt.
“Being able to prevent the next crime is essential in reducing gun violence and provide a safer neighborhood for everybody’s families,” Thomas finished.
