INDIANAPOLIS — All eyes are on Indy's proposed budget for the coming year.
Crime has been a big focus around town, not just for city leaders but for those who live here or visit Indianapolis.
Cutting down on crime means making needed investments in the criminal justice system, an issue that was front and center during a City-County Council committee meeting Wednesday night.
Coming before the council, leaders from the the prosecutor's office, public defender's office and community corrections outlined their budget proposals to members of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee. They're voicing concerns for programs in need of funding to help crack down on crime and ensure justice in Indianapolis.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said theft and domestic battery are the most common charges currently being filed by his office. Indiana's new law that took away the requirement for a gun permit eliminated one way police solved crimes, Mears said, where previously they were able to take weapons taken from felons and test them for ballistics against previous crimes.
A big focus for the prosecutor will be cutting down on youth-involved crime.
"One of the biggest trends that we're seeing right now as it relates to violent crime is young people and firearms," said Mears.
The prosecutor's office has filed hundreds of dangerous possession cases for juveniles since 2020, and often those kids are able to get hold of those guns easily, buying or selling them online, according to Mears.
They're focusing on reaching into the community to try to make a difference with kids at a younger age, to turn them away from violence and help cut down on that trend.
One big problem facing both the prosecutor's office and the public defender's office is too many cases coming in and not enough pay for staff. Right now, Chief Public Defender Bob Hill said those problems are leading good employees to walk away.
"They would like to stay," he said. "I can't tell you how many people have left. It's a real issue for our staff and for the morale of our office, and it's a real issue for our community, to make sure we have adequate staffing to get the job done."
His office is down 11 social workers simply because they cannot pay enough, Hill told the committee Wednesday. He's asking for $10,000 in raises for all social workers and $7,000 in raises for all attorneys in an effort to help stay more competitive with other agencies on pay and keep quality staffers who might otherwise leave.
Hill said his office and the prosecutor's office are feeling the challenges. It's why they're asking the council to make these investments in wages. And, Hill said, it's important that both agencies get these pay increases at the same time, to ensure there's no inequity of resources on either side of the justice system.