Understaffed police departments in Indianapolis
There are some problems that come with police departments being understaffed. Indianapolis has 1.7 officers per 1000 residents, but the national average is 2.5 officers per 1000 residents. This means that when there is an emergency call a small percentage of officers are available to help. Indianapolis needs to add about 300 officers to reach the national average, but the high cost of recruiting and training makes the process difficult to complete. Instead of hiring 300 new police officers, Indianapolis is looking at ways to increase the civilian public safety corps. It would take Indianapolis at least two years to fill 300 spots.
How Banning the Box affects the crime rate
The reduction in crime rates in Indiana could also be helped with a measure known as “Banning the Box.” The box in this measure is the one on job applications that requires applicants to check it if they have been convicted of crimes. When people check the box, their job applications tend to be immediately discarded. There are mixed results involved with banning the box. In high crime areas, banning the box helps these neighborhoods as more white males with convictions can find employment. But, minorities and women still have difficulty finding jobs – even if they do not have any criminal convictions. When people can find jobs that pay well, crime rates drop. So, the measure to ban the box could help. Unfortunately, employers have raised experience requirements instead. This disqualifies many women and minorities who may have histories of crime.
