INDIANAPOLIS -- Troy Riggs promised to upend the status quo last December when it was announced he would be the next chief of police under then-incoming Mayor Joe Hogsett.
A little more than a year later, as Riggs prepares to leave the department – citing, in part, his salary and his family's "financial future" – the status quo has been upended. But whether that's temporary, or a long-term shift for IMPD, is yet to be seen.
While the homicide rate – which spiked in 2015 to a record high for Indianapolis – remains unchanged, IMPD can tout some of its largest operations in history under Riggs' watch, including "Operation First Step," "Operation Glass Houses" and a massive sweep in October that netted nearly 200 arrests and seized $50,000 in suspected drug proceeds.
READ MORE | IMPD Chief Troy Riggs leaving position
Riggs' tenure also saw the much-applauded return of beat policing to Indianapolis following years of zone policing under his predecessor, Chief Rick Hite. And Riggs undertook an overhaul of IMPD that reorganized the department from top to bottom.
Above: A timeline of Troy Riggs' career and time in Indianapolis.
Riggs sent out an email to all of IMPD Wednesday listing what he saw as some of the department's accomplishments this year, among them establishing the new narcotics and flex teams, reinstating regular data meetings and getting the intelligence and information center up and running.
RTV6 took a deeper look at some of what Riggs accomplished in his year as chief below:
Real-Time Data Center & Social Disorder Index
One of the very first things Riggs and Hogsett did was launch IMPD's new Real-Time Data Center. The center has access to more than 100 databases maintained by the department, which IMPD has used to develop and implement what it calls its "social disorder index."
IMPD has used the social disorder index to reallocate officers and to decide where to target enforcement efforts – as well as follow-up social services visits. The approach has been met with mixed reviews from those who live in areas deemed to have high social disorder.
"If they are doing something like that for the community, kids need that," Frederick Henning told RTV6 in June after IMPD conducted a sweep in his neighborhood. "They need somebody to rack 'em up."
Bill & Star Fox were less enthusiastic, saying the sweep just left them scratching their heads and wondering "why?"
READ MORE | IMPD unveils Real-Time Data Center | IMPD introduces new 'social disorder' formula | IMPD grabs guns, drugs & 200 arrests in east side sweep | IMPD sweep met by some with criticism | IMPD arrests 26 offenders in 'Operation First Step'
Return to Beat Policing
In March, IMPD announced it would take its 33 patrol zones, each covering about 11 square miles, and break them up into "beats" encompassing an average of 1.14 square miles each.
At the time, Riggs said the move came from feedback IMPD had received from officers, civilian personnel and the public.
"This signals a major philosophical shift in the way the department operates and interacts with the community we serve," Riggs said. "As many have said, it is difficult for our officers to be able to engage citizens when they are responsible to covering large areas of the city."
Above: IMPD's new beat map.
The move was positively received across the city, earning praise from community leaders and the Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police.
"I think when you get the neighborhood and the police department working together in unison for the betterment of the community, that would be great," barber Bob Moore, who has owned a barbershop for 13 year in the 3300 block of North Illinois Street, told RTV6 in February.
READ MORE | IMPD debuts new beat policing map | IMPD plans to return to beat system
Operations First Step, Glass Houses, New Normal
Under Riggs' watch, IMPD has taken an aggressive stance toward disrupting drug trafficking organizations in the city. The department executed some of its largest operations in history in 2016, netting hundreds of arrests and massive quantities of drugs. In "Operation Glass Houses" alone, IMPD reportedly seized more than $250,000-worth of drugs.
In June, IMPD launched "Operation First Step" – an effort it called the largest operation in the department's history. More than 150 federal, state and local officers targeted homes in north, east and northwest Indianapolis. The operation resulted in the arrests of 26 people suspected of drug-related crimes, the discovery of a marijuana grow operation and a bootlegging operation, and the arrest of a man wanted on a $1 million narcotics warrant.
"Operation Glass Houses" was even larger. Hundreds of federal and local law enforcement officers executed 43 search warrants on Nov. 17, arresting 41 people and seizing 19 pounds of meth, 1.5 kilograms of heroin, 1 kilogram of cocaine and more than $85,000 in purported drug proceeds. Police also seized 94 illegally owned guns during the raids.
IMPD officers also conducted their first social services sweep in "Operation New Normal." The effort, which saw officers paired with city employees and representatives from social services organizations, was well-received. It followed on the heels of drug raids on the east side, and aimed to "fill the void" left when a household's primary earner is incarcerated.
Unresolved: Homicides still at 'crisis' level
When Hogsett announced Riggs would be his police chief, he described Indianapolis as a city suffering a public safety crisis. At the time, the city was on its way to what would become the deadliest year in recorded history, with 145 criminal homicides for the year.
As of this writing, 2016 has seen 144 criminal homicides.
When Riggs and IMPD embarked on their campaign of disrupting drug trafficking operations in the city, he warned that "things could get worse before they get better." If no one else is killed this year, and the city ends one violent death lower than last year, it will be the first time in six years Indianapolis hasn't seen an increase in homicides.
The distribution of homicides hasn't changed much, either. The Near Eastside and neighborhoods around Washington Park remain disproportionately affected. While some parts of the city haven't seen a homicide in year, the Near Eastside has had more than 20 in 2016 alone.
Riggs' data-driven community policing model was billed as the cure for localized crime issues, but he now won't be around to test that theory. Hogsett said at a press conference Wednesday that he was looking for the best candidate to fill Riggs' shoes – although it wasn't clear whether that meant someone to follow his policies, or implement their own strategy.
