As 2025 comes to a close, newly released numbers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department highlight the significant impact of specialized teams working to reduce violent crime across the Circle City.WATCH FULL STORY BELOW IMPD specialized teams recover nearly 2,000 guns in 2025IMPD's Violence Reduction Teams and Violent Crimes Task Forces, operating in each district, have made substantial progress in their mission to make Indianapolis communities safer. The teams focus on targeting street-level and mid-level narcotics trafficking while pursuing violent offenders with firearms."Some of the best detectives we have on the agency are doing this job on a daily basis," said Sgt. Adam Chappell of the Southeast District Violence Reduction Team. The 2025 statistics show an increase in enforcement activity compared to the previous year. Officers recovered 1,976 firearms and made nearly 2,800 arrests, representing significant increases from 847 firearms and more than 1,300 arrests in 2024.Beyond firearms, the teams seized substantial quantities of illegal drugs, including: 6,280 grams of heroin and fentanyl 75,685 grams of methamphetamine 10,790 grams of cocaine 10,000 pillsThey also recovered 128 stolen vehicles, conducted over 2,400 interviews and served over 800 search warrants."The number of illegal firearms that were taken off the street" stands out as a key accomplishment, Chappell said. "We're seeing a lot of gun violence here in our community, getting the guns out of these offenders' hands is the easiest, the quickest way for us to have a positive impact to interrupt this violence," Chappell said.The teams gather intelligence through traditional surveillance, electronic surveillance, and community partnerships to identify perpetrators of violence and drug trafficking on Indianapolis streets.The enforcement efforts coincide with a reduction in homicides across the city. IMPD reports 131 criminal homicides in 2025 compared to 163 at the same time last year. While the specialized teams contribute to crime reduction, Chappell emphasizes it's a collaborative effort."We're targeting these offenders before they're violent, before they act, before they pull the trigger in a lot of cases," Chappell said.IMPD acknowledges that community involvement remains crucial to its success. Much of the information that drives investigations comes from community members and Crime Stoppers tips. ...read more read less