Indianapolis area public safety officials have received dozens of questions related to security plans prior to, and the day of the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 29th.  The Speedway Police Department, along with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and the Indiana State Police wish to make the following statement:

There is a comprehensive security plan in place for pre-race and race day events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Part of a good plan is not sharing specific details that could educate the very element that seeks to do harm.  For that reason public safety personnel will not speak about components of our security plan, other than to share that each person visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is part of the security plan by being extra eyes and ears. As always, patrons are encouraged to be vigilant, and as we constantly remind the public; if you “See Something, Say Something.”  We would rather investigate a tip that turns out to be false than have a visitor dismiss something unusual and say nothing.

It is law enforcement’s collective goal to ensure each person can safely enjoy the greatest spectacle in racing.  For information about what can or cannot be brought into the track please visit http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/events/indy500/fan-info/gate-search-policy

The City-County Observer is pleased to announce that they have worked out an arrangement to use the contents published in the online award-winning ProPublica publication.

ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force. They dig deep into important issues, shining a light on abuses of power and betrayals of public trust and they stick with those issues as long as it takes to hold power to account. With a team of more than 50 dedicated reporters and editors.

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Among other positive changes, their reporting has contributed to the passage of new laws; reversals of harmful policies and practices; and accountability for leaders at local, state and national levels. Investigative journalism requires a great deal of time and resources, and many newsrooms can no longer afford to take on this kind of deep-dive reporting.

As a nonprofit, ProPublica work is powered primarily through donations. The vast bulk of the money they spend goes directly into a world-class, award-winning journalism. They are committed to uncovering the truth, no matter how long it takes or how much it costs, and they practice transparent financial reporting so donors know how their dollars are spent.
ProPublica was founded in 2007-2008 with the belief that investigative journalism is critical to our democracy. Their staff remains dedicated to carrying forward the important work of exposing corruption, informing the public about complex issues, and using the power of investigative journalism to spur reform.

Partnerships are one of the ways that ProPublica can seek to maximize the impact of journalism. Since 2008, ProPublica has partnered with hundreds of other news organizations to report, edit, distribute, and create local content around their investigations. In the future, City-County Observer hopes to partner with ProPublica on doing investigative articles on local issues concerning the not so obvious.

FOOTNOTE: The MISSION of ProPublica is to expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing.

ProPublica is honored to have been recognized by their peers. ProPublica and members of their staff have been honored for the quality of our work, the ethics of our journalists, and the innovative spirit of our newsroom. Since they began publishing in 2008, ProPublica has received four Pulitzer Prizes, three Peabody Awards, two Emmy Awards, five George Polk Awards, three Online Journalism Awards for General Excellence and a National Magazine Award among others.