Indianapolis Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Crime=== Unlike other major Midwest cities like [[Detroit]] and [[Chicago]], the homicide rate for Indianapolis remained below the national average throughout the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-01-24-9401240116-story.html | title=Teen Violence Jolts Indianapolis into Action | website=[[Chicago Tribune]] | date=January 24, 1994 }}</ref> Homicides hit a spike in 1998 when the city reached 162 murders. Murders drastically decreased in the following years but spiked again in 2006 with 153 murders.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wthr.com/article/news/homicide-rates-jump-in-2006/531-6c1b91d7-1b28-47ad-a215-befd33b257db | title=Homicide rates jump in 2006 | date=December 29, 2006 }}</ref> Until 2019, annual criminal homicide numbers had grown each year since 2011, reaching record highs from 2015 to 2018.<ref name="criminal homicides">{{cite news |last=Mack |first=Justin |date=January 10, 2020 |url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2020/01/08/homicides-indianapolis-down-but-there-no-time-celebrate/2793754001/ |title=Indianapolis homicides down for the first time in years. Here's why no one is celebrating. |newspaper=The Indianapolis Star |publisher=Gannett Co. |access-date=June 19, 2020}}</ref> With 144 criminal homicides, 2015 surpassed 1998 as the year with the most murder investigations in the city. With 159 criminal homicides, 2018 stands as the most violent year on record in the city.<ref name="criminal homicides"/> [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] data showed a 7% increase in violent crimes committed in Indianapolis, outpacing the rest of the state and country.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mack |first=Justin |date=December 31, 2017 |url=https://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2017/12/31/woman-killed-new-years-eve-shooting/993210001/ |title=Woman killed in New Year's Eve shooting |newspaper=The Indianapolis Star |publisher=Gannett Co. |access-date=February 2, 2018}}</ref> Law enforcement has blamed increased violence on a combination of root causes, including poverty, substance abuse, and mental illness.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hays |first1=Holly |last2=Mack |first2=Justin |last3=Ryckaert |first3=Vic |date=December 22, 2016 |url=http://www.indystar.com/story/news/crime/2016/12/22/latest-killing-makes-2016-deadliest-year-citys-history/94722218/ |title=Latest killing makes 2016 deadliest year in city's history |newspaper=The Indianapolis Star |publisher=Gannett Co. |access-date=January 11, 2017}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page