INDIANAPOLIS — Record breaking gun violence across the city has put a strain on families and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
"These are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, kids. I mean these are really tragic times and it's not lost on me when we talk about record breaking," said Deputy Chief Kendale Adams.
Some fear their loved one's cases will never be solved.
"With the holidays coming up, it's getting emotional. Christmas really hits hard for me," said Kelly Langford, the mother of a homicide victim.
"I want my son's case to be solved, but there are other parents I met who are two, three years down the line and they are still at day one as well. That makes no sense and that gives me no hope either," said Nadia Clopton.
Parents who have shared their frustration say there aren't enough homicide detectives to handle the cases.
With 251 homicides this year, 129 remain unsolved, according to IMPD Deputy Chief Kendale Adams.
"Certainly, we are not where at the level I think we should be at and I am going to keep pushing in 2022 to get more detectives in homicide and in one area that doesn't get a lot of attention is our non-fatal shootings," said Adams.
Adams says the goal is to get 38 detectives into the homicide unit. Right now, the department has 33 but one is retiring soon and the other is moving to cold cases.
To help relieve some of the case load stress, Adams says they've moved detectives from the financial crimes unit to homicide.
Adams said right now, detectives are averaging about 8-9 cases each. That's above the national average of 4-6 cases.
Adams says he understands parents' frustration but says recruiting has been difficult.
"When you think about officers perception - if I am an officer that works the streets today, I'm not sure I want to go to homicide right because I am going to be working a lot. I am going to have more cases," Adams said.
Adams says if a family feels they are not getting the proper communication from their detective- call the homicide supervisor or his office.
Those numbers are 317-327-3475 and 317-327-3730.
