Let’s Talk About Indiana Crime Gun Task Force

I have problems with terms like “crime guns,” much like the term “gun crime.” I know what it means, but the thing we have to remember is that the gun is blameless in every crime. Guns don’t just go off–well, most don’t, anyway–and none commit crimes on their own. They all need a person, which is where the focus should be.

The focus on the tool means we’re not focusing on the behavior, and violence happens with non-firearm weapons all the time.

In Indiana, though, they opted to focus on guns with a police task force, which is now being celebrated for its success.

An Indiana task force focused on getting guns used in crimes off the street is celebrating a busy first quarter of 2025 while preparing to expand its reach.

Why it matters: Central Indiana law enforcement officials credit the establishment of the Indiana Crime Guns Task Force for driving violent crime down in Indianapolis and surrounding communities following a post-pandemic surge.

That’s interesting, but I’d also like to point out that violent crime is down across the nation. Just about every city saw a reduction in violent crime, and most of them don’t have a special task force focused on “crime guns” or anything of the sort.

I get that officials are going to credit the task force for the drop, but would they ever say otherwise? If they’re part of this task force, dedicating specific resources to it, they’re predisposed to believe any positive results are because of their actions. They’re not even lying when they say it, even if that’s not why violent crime is down. They likely believe it with their whole heart.

That doesn’t mean they’re right, though.

Still, let’s get into the other side of this report.

By the numbers: The task force has released its results from the first three months of 2025, noting that 115 illegal firearms and 167 machine gun conversion devices have been seized from Jan. 1 to March 31.

• The group made 75 state arrests and six federal arrests.
• They’re on pace to surpass 2024 totals of more than 270 seized firearms, 232 state arrests and 16 federal arrests.

OK, that may well be a lot of arrests and a lot of “illegal firearms” and full-auto switches overall.

However, if they’re illegal guns, it seems like the laws on the books meant to keep guns out of criminal hands aren’t working worth a flip. I get that Indiana isn’t exactly an anti-gun state, but federal laws were also sold to the American people as being necessary to keep guns out of criminal hands, yet here we are.

Why?

Because criminals want guns, and law enforcement delves into why.

Yes, and: The group is leveraging its resources to put a dent in drug trafficking throughout the region, seizing 544 grams of fentanyl, 32,164 grams of marijuana and 1,814 grams of methamphetamine in Q1.

• “Narcotics and firearms unfortunately go hand in hand,” IMPD Lt. Jered Hidlebaugh told Axios. “If somebody rips somebody off, they can’t exactly call the police and say ‘I got 20 pounds of meth stolen.'”
• “These individuals who are trafficking use these illegal firearms to protect themselves, protect the proceeds of the narcotics they’re selling and to protect the narcotics themselves. So it’s always a big plus for us when we can pull an illegal firearm off of the street with narcotics at the same time.”

Of course, these drugs are even more tightly controlled than firearms, yet these criminals had no issue getting their hands on them. Why would firearms be any different? 

These people have rivals and threats. As noted, they can’t exactly call the cops to report that their drugs were stolen. They have to defend themselves and their products. They have to get revenge, which they often seek instead of justice, and that means carrying out violent attacks.

They’re going to get guns no matter what laws you put in place because there is no alternative for them, at least in their minds. Gun control isn’t going to stop them because drug control never has.

Instead, we’d do better to focus on the behavior itself instead of trying to regulate guns out of their hands as if that were somehow possible.

Of course, that would mean some people would have to acknowledge that people are the problem, not guns. They just can’t bring themselves to do that.