INDIANAPOLIS VIOLENCE REDUCTION PARTNERSHIP (IN)

Program Description
The Indianapolis Violence Reduction Partnership (IVRP), which began in December 1997, is a community-wide project involving the collaborative efforts of social service providers, faith-based organizations, and law enforcement agencies. The Partnership is a working group that uses a problem-solving methodology to address various crime problems – violent incidents are analyzed, strategies are implemented, and the impact of the efforts is continually assessed. According to the IVRP, the elements of the Partnership's plan to increase public safety include: increased arrest, prosecution, and incarceration of the most serious and chronic violent offenders; disruption of illegal firearms markets; multi-level and multi-agency strategic response to homicides; communication of anti-violence messages to potential offenders and to the community at large; and the development of community-based prevention components.

The Partnership recognized that in order to enhance public safety, they needed to focus on high-risk former offenders and prevent them from reoffending. The idea behind this was that by holding this high-risk group accountable, they will be more productive and successful community members. IVRP specifically targets the most violent offenders in the community and delivers the message – directly – that violence is unacceptable. Probation and parole officials require that high-risk offenders, particularly those who have been involved in violent crime and drug distribution, have a face-to-face meeting with criminal justice officials and neighborhood leaders. The meetings follow a neighborhood-based format in which a group of 15-30 probationers and parolees from the neighborhood come to court for a meeting of 30-60 minutes duration. Although the format differs depending on the community, the group hears from key personnel in the U. S. Attorney's Office, the Marion County prosecutor's office, parole, probation, and a neighborhood leader. The goal of these meetings is to let the high– risk individuals know that if they continue with their violent behavior, law enforcement is going to respond by "pulling all available levers" using federal prosecution, state prosecution, probationer/ parole home visits, drug testing and violations, increased traffic enforcement, and other methods. After prosecutors, police, probation, and parole officers discuss the consequences that await the former offenders if they are caught recommitting crimes upon their return to their neighborhoods, the group is presented with community resources to make positive choices. Collectively, the representatives at the meetings convey a unified message that the inmates have the power to choose their own destiny and that there are support services available for them.

Program Goals
The mission of IVRP is to "use a focused and coordinated problem solving approach to reduce the level of homicide and serious violence in the community."

Networking, Partnering & Collaboration
The prevention efforts build on strong partnerships with probation and parole as well as with community partners such as Weed and Seed and the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition. (The Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition provides faith-based intervention programs to combat youth violence, improve literacy skills, and help with employment opportunities. This initiative is modeled after the Boston Ten Point Coalition and is a part of the National Ten Point Leadership Foundation's (NTLP) network.) In addition, a large group of key policymakers from local, state, and federal law enforcement, courts, corrections, and city-county government collaborate with the IVRP.

Outcomes
Although no reentry-specific data was available, the IVRP reports reductions in the annual homicide rate since 1997.

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