Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee

Indianapolis City-County Council

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Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024
5:30 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. EDT

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200 East Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 (Directions)

City County Building, Public Assembly Room

The Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee of the City-County Council oversees the public safety agencies of the City and County. Those agencies include the Marion Superior and Civil Courts, fire and police agencies, emergency communication, forensic services, coroner, prosecutor, and public defender.

Current Committee members:

Leroy Robinson, D-District 1, chair
Paul Annee, R-District 22
Josh Bain, R-District 21
Dan Boots, D-District 3
Crista Carlino, D-District 11, vice chair
Brienne Delaney, D-District 2
Keith Graves, D-District 9
Michael Paul-Hart, R-District 20
Frank Mascari, D-District 19
Jessica McCormick, D-District 16
Brian Mowery, R-District 25
Carlos Perkins, D-District 6

Find the meetings live streamed here: http://indianapolis.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3

Questions? Email us at documenters@mirrorindy.org

Check the source website for additional information

Reporting

Edited and summarized by the Indianapolis - IN Documenters Team

Note-taking by Angela Battaglino

Budget presentations from Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, Marion County Public Defender Agency ,) and Marion County Community Corrections

View notes

Live reporting by Nathaniel Eichenhorn

Budget Proposals of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee of the Indianapolis City-County Council

Nathan E @Vevrikes

Hi everyone, I’ll be live tweeting the Indianapolis Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee meeting at 5:30 for #IndyDocumenters. Media Partners: @indydocumenters @mirrorindy

03:58 PM Aug 21, 2024 CDT

Nathan E @Vevrikes 2/17

The meeting started out with a presentation from the Marion County Prosecutor's Office. The presentation is being given by Ryan Mears 29 murder cases, 27 convictions

Nathan E @Vevrikes 3/17

Mears also spoke about the new truancy law, and made clear that he is being forced to increase police interaction with schools, and described as a burden on the schools, on the police, and in the prosecutor's office. indystar.com/story/news/edu…

indystar.com/story/news/edu…

Nathan E @Vevrikes 4/17

The total prosecutor budget for the year is just over $35 million.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 5/17

The prosecutor's office next addressed the work of the Child Support Division and spoke briefly from slides about the work the division does and its goals.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 6/17

The prosecutor's office is focusing on increasing equity in its work. They have consulted with scholars and legal experts to begin creating a roadmap for more equitable prosecution of crime and promoting healthy rehabilitation. They are partnering with a number of orgs.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 7/17

Mears explained that the prosecutor's office is having trouble retaining talent. He said lawyers like to start in Marion County to get jury trial experience (Indy is good for this) and then, once attractive to the private sector, get hired away at wages he can't match.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 8/17

Next, the Marion County Public Defender's office gave a presentation. Robert Hill is retiring and Ray Casanova is taking over. He began by describing the importance of full-time attorneys, supplemented by contractors.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 9/17

Casanova said it has been difficult to retain talent due to non-competitive pay scales and residency requirements (public defenders are required by statute to reside in Marion County.) He also emphasized that the office has reimbursed the county millions of dollars.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 10/17

The total budget for the office is just over $34 million. The office is also working on increasing equity. Casanova emphasized the success of bringing attorneys' and support staff's pay into parity with similarly situated workers in the prosecutor's office.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 11/17

Thread continues here: https://x.com/Vevrikes/status/1826386187621466522?t=WTkx_fDfziYF8zc1HfP-Mw&s=19

https://x.com/Vevrikes/status/1826386187621466522?t=WTkx_fDfziYF8zc1HfP-Mw&s=19

Nathan E @Vevrikes 12/17

Next up is Community Corrections.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 13/17

The department is in the process of translating documents into Burmese and Haitian Creole, the native language of two populations the department says is chronically underserved.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 14/17

Nathan E @Vevrikes 15/17

They also emphasized the Welcome Home Initiative mirrorindy.org/new-indy-initi…

mirrorindy.org/new-indy-initi…

Nathan E @Vevrikes 16/17

The department noted that the Duvall Residential Center is in need of refurbishing or, ideally, replacement. They report that maintenance of such an old facility is difficult and a hindrance to the department's goals.

Nathan E @Vevrikes 17/17

With that, the meeting was adjourned at 7:23 pm.

View thread

Attachments

MCPO Budget Presentation

By Angela Battaglino 8/21/2024

MCPDA Budget Presentation

By Angela Battaglino 8/21/2024

Agency Information

Indianapolis City-County Council

See meeting notes for details

www.indy.gov

See Documenters reporting

The Indianapolis City-County Council is the legislative branch of our local government. In addition to adopting budgets, levying taxes, and authorizing financial appropriations to fund city and county operations, the council is responsible for enacting, repealing, and amending local laws. The Council appoints members to boards and commissions that serve the community, and all meetings are open to the public.

Council members