In 2023, Indianapolis recorded 219 homicides showing another decrease from years prior.
It was the second straight year the city say a decrease, but was the fourth year in a row police have investigated more than 200 homicides.
Here's a look at the 2024 homicide data for Marion County.
While the city is making progress, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Randal Taylor stresses this modest decline from a staggering high isn't reason to celebrate.
"We know that each one of those lives represents a soul," Taylor said. "It represents someone's brother, sister, son, daughter, whatever. Someone that's important to somebody and those numbers have got to come down."
Officials believe the violence is driven by societal problems including poverty, lack of housing, lack of education and poor parenting.
"Those kinds of things certainly play a factor," Taylor said. "But we all know people who have come up and didn't have a whole lot of money, didn't have a great education, didn't have a lot of things going for them. It doesn't mean they turn around and commit violent acts of crime."
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