Marion County prosecutor candidates offer different fixes for youth violence – WFYI

Marion County prosecutor candidates offer different fixes for youth violence  WFYI

Candidates for Marion County prosecutor — Democratic incumbent Ryan Mears and Repubican challenger Philip Foust — disagree on crime data and youth violence ahead of Nov. 3 election. Gov. Mike Braun and other Indiana Republicans fault Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears for violent crime in Indianapolis. Mears, a Democrat, says state lawmakers share the blame. The dispute is central to the Nov. 3 race for prosecutor in Indiana’s most populous county. The Indianapolis mayor’s administration says homicides and nonfatal shootings have dropped sharply since 2021. But critics say the office is too lenient on violent offenders. Mears, the Democratic incumbent, and Republican challenger Philip Foust agree more work is needed to reduce violence.

They differ on what the crime statistics show and how to respond. Mears was chosen as prosecutor in 2019 by local party members after the late Terry Curry resigned for health reasons. He was elected in 2022. Foust is the Speedway clerk-treasurer and a former Marion County deputy prosecutor who worked in the office under Curry and Mears from 2015 to 2021. “We’re now a town that is a convention town for all the good reasons you’d want to come to Indiana,” Braun said Oct. 28 when he endorsed Foust. He said families no longer feel comfortable visiting Indianapolis. “The police are doing their job. The part