Public Safety director on successes, challenges

Community leaders and news media came to the UIndy campus in force today to catch a public address by Troy Riggs, director of the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety. Looking back on 2014 and ahead to 2015, Riggs said the implementation of business principles and data-driven decision making — “being a little geeky” — is helping to put more police on the street and improve the effectiveness of all the city’s safety-related agencies.

“This is a fundamental shift in the way we do business,” he said, noting that the city is drawing national attention for its efforts.

Riggs also noted the challenges the city faces, including a disturbing homicide rate and a rise in heroin use. He called for a holistic approach in which police and city officials work together with churches, mental health agencies and community groups to tackle problems in key neighborhoods.

“We’ve got to do better,” he told the assembled audience in Schwitzer Student Center’s UIndy Hall.