The City of Indianapolis is waging a war on drugs. Along with the growing use of heroin, illicit drugs are a major focus for Indianapolis Metro Police's crime-fighting initiative.

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - The City of Indianapolis is waging a war on drugs. Along with the growing use of heroin, illicit drugs are a major focus for Indianapolis Metro Police's crime-fighting initiative.

IMPD Chief Troy Riggs joined Eyewitness News at Noon to discuss the problem. He says the city's growing homicide rate is due to narcotics use "and the violence that's associated with that."

Since taking the reins in January, Riggs said he realized that IMPD "really didn't have a method in the district level to deal with a narcotics complaint." That meant those complaints were getting funneled to a central location because the district didn't have the personnel to deal with it.

"We've increased our visibility at the district level. All districts have narcotics divisions," he said. After completing their training in May and hitting the streets in June, those narcotics officers have made around 1,400 arrests and removed over 200 weapons off the streets and seized half a million dollars in drug money.

Chief Riggs says so far, they've been tackling short-term solutions to long-term problems. Together with Mayor Joe Hogsett, he wants to address the degradation of the quality of life that occurs when drug dealing runs rampant in a neighborhood.

"When you arrest individuals, it's gonna cause a little uptick in crime because, quite frankly, they haven't been dealt with the way they should have been the last couple of years. We've seen drug dealers shooting each other," said Riggs.

But many of those arrested are soon released. Riggs says that's another issue that needs to be addressed.