The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department wants Indy residents to weigh in on the future of the agency as it embarks on a five-year strategic plan.
Police Chief Chris Bailey says the plan will be “a collaborative process from start to finish” with input from officers, IMPD staff and community residents.
IMPD is partnering with Indianapolis-based Taylor Advising, a woman-owned firm, to guide the department’s future over the next five years. The agency signed a $237,000 contract with the organization, which will be responsible for facilitating conversations, gathering feedback and developing a comprehensive strategy over the next several months.
“Our role is not to write the content of the plan, but to create space for input,” said Marla Taylor, the firm’s president, during an April 10 press conference at IMPD’s Southwest District.
The consulting firm has previously done work for organizations including the Indy Public Safety Foundation, the United Way of Central Indiana and the Marion County Commission on Youth.
Residents can offer feedback by filling out a 15-minute survey, which asks questions around perceptions of safety, crime and IMPD performance.
Bailey, who took over as chief in February 2024, says the plan is separate from the agency’s agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, which is examining a spike in officer-involved shootings in Indianapolis. There were 17 such shootings last year.
Aside from violent crime, the department’s biggest challenge is recruitment and retention of officers, Bailey said.
IMPD has 1,450 officers but enough funding for 1,743 officers, he said, a gap the department has struggled to close despite offering generous sign-on bonuses, 12-week parental leave and a starting salary of $72,000.
“If we continue to lose (officers), then we’re going to have to start talking about what services we cut,” Bailey said.
Last year, the department took federal funding that was meant to hire 100 officers and used it to give bonuses after the positions went unfilled for three years.
Bailey attributes the falloff in staffing to the difficulties of the job combined with changing attitudes around police.
“We’ve demonized policing. We have exaggerated the actions of the officers in certain circumstances — not understanding what the law and training allows, and why they do it — and that has impacted retention and recruiting,” Bailey said.
IMPD plans to make a final draft of the plan available for public review and comment in November, with implementation beginning in January 2026.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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