The Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys, Inc. issued the following statement today in response to the announcement by the Justice Department that Indianapolis is one of 12 U.S. cities to receive “significant assistance†to pursue violent criminals involved in “gun crime, drug trafficking and gang violence.â€Â (see Justice Department press release – https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-sessions-announces-creation-national-public-safety-partnership-combat ):
“Indiana’s Prosecuting Attorneys welcome the Justice Department’s selection of Indianapolis as one of 12 U.S. cities that will receive federal assistance to fight violent crime over a three-year period,†said Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys, Inc. President Patricia Baldwin, Hendricks County Prosecutor. “As Prosecutors we understand how gun violence, drug trafficking and gangs negatively impacts neighborhoods and families, as well as fueling many other crimes. Indiana’s prosecutors have been consistent and unified in our opinion that Indiana’s drug penalties are too low. Without adequate penalties to put drug dealers in prison, they remain on the street and create the violence identified by the U.S. Justice Department. Prosecutors will continue to urge our Legislature to provide law enforcement with additional tools to combat the drug trafficking violence that exists and continues to grow in parts of the Hoosier state.â€
