The Indiana Crime Guns Task Force (ICGTF), in a year-long sweep of targeted operations, has confiscated over 270 illegal firearms, according to Fox 59. This initiative, which started in mid-2021, has been galvanized by local and federal law enforcement to disrupt the cycle of violence in central Indiana, this year resulting in 232 arrests, and with the task force claiming credit for a decline in violent crimes in the area.
Alongside the firearms, IMPD revealed to FOX 59 that the same task force has seized approximately 168 pounds of illegal narcotics, and forfeited almost $400,000 in US currency associated with illegal activities. Of those arrested, 16 people have been charged federally for firearms and narcotics-related offenses. IMPD Lt. Jered Hidlebaugh mentioned that the task force has been crucial in reducing non-fatal shootings and other violent crimes.
"We're all in this together," Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart told FOX 59, emphasizing the collaborative effort of multiple agencies, including the ATF and local law enforcement from Fishers, Avon, and several other communities. Having seized close to 500 illegal guns in Fishers since 2019, Gebhart implies a significant impact on regional safety. A sentiment mirrored by ATF's John Nokes who stressed the task force's focus on repeat violent suspects. "We're fishing with a spear so speak," Nokes said, stressing the targeted approach to policing.
In connection with this, the task force employs rigorous investigative techniques aided by technology like the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), as explained by Hidlebaugh in an interview with WTHR. This has enabled the team to link shell casings from shootings to firearms used in multiple incidents, bringing to the forefront the dangerous proliferation of machine gun-conversion devices, some of which can be produced using 3D printers for under a dollar. "Once we get the gun off the streets, that neighborhood no longer has a shots fired problem," Hidlebaugh said.
The ICGTF's broadened reach and ongoing success, as described to WTHR, are seen as pivotal in the continued reduction of violence in central Indiana. As criminals frequently do not limit their activities to one jurisdiction, next year's goal is to incorporate even more communities into the task force's fold. "If you are going to commit violence on our citizens using illegal firearms, our unit is going to come get you," Hidlebaugh warned future offenders.
