October 15, 2018 - The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has recently awarded several million dollars to departments across the country in support of forensic activities under the Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grant Program.

The Fort Wayne Police Department’s awarded grant will allow for the strategic implementation of improving timeliness and quality of digital forensic services, reducing backlog of evidence by 64.5% in mobile examinations, 58.93% in computer examinations, and 88.27% in video examinations.

October 11, 2018 - As part of continuing efforts to make City government as responsive as possible, the 311 Call Center will now be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays with two members of our 311 team taking calls from the public. These additional hours will help provide residents with more opportunities to get in touch with the City. The Call Center can be reached by calling 311 within the City limits or at (260) 427-8311. 

October 10, 2018 - Rx Abuse Leadership Initiative (RALI) Indiana is providing a new tool in the effort to fight the opioid crisis in Allen County. Today, RALI Indiana announced the donation of 15,000 safe drug disposal kits to various groups and coalitions in northeast Indiana that will allow Hoosiers to easily and safely dispose of unwanted and unused prescription medication. Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry hosted the RALI Indiana announcement at Citizens Square.

“Safe drug disposal could keep someone prone to addiction from ever trying an opioid,” said Mayor Henry.  “Safe disposal could save lives and thanks to these resources and education, we are another step closer to controlling this epidemic.”

Launched in July, RALI is a diverse coalition of business and community leaders, patient organizations and other health care stakeholders dedicated to finding and supporting solutions to end the opioid crisis. RALI Indiana has partnered with the Drug and Alcohol Consortium of Allen County (DACAC) to address opioid misuse in the region and to oversee the distribution of safe drug disposal kits. 

October 9, 2018 - Earlier today, Fort Wayne residents, City Council Members, City staff and owners of Red River Waste Solutions Inc. joined Mayor Tom Henry, to announce improvement plans for residential garbage and recycling collection.

In August, Mayor Henry formed the Mayor’s Working Group on Garbage and Recycling to look at issues and develop positive solutions to improve the collection process.

“As we looked for ways to improve, it was important to include neighborhood leaders.  They are there every day and know the frustrations some residents have experienced with missed collections,” said Mayor Henry. “I’m appreciative of the proactive efforts of the working group to determine the best next steps that we believe will lead to better garbage and recycling collection services.” 

The Working Group consisted of leaders from nine neighborhoods representing all quadrants of the City, Fort Wayne City Council members Tom Didier and Jason Arp, members of the Solid Waste Department and representatives from Red River Waste Solutions Inc. Group members looked at a variety of issues including missed pick-ups, driver shortages, 311 wait times, improving neighborhood service, and collection route inefficiencies. 

October 4, 2018 - U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly announced today that, with his support, the Fort Wayne Police Department (FWPD) and Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS) have been awarded grant funding from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. The $301,165 award will allow FWCS and FWPD to replace analog video cameras at schools – many of which are failing despite maintenance and repair – with a new camera system that will provide a superior field of view, visual clarity, and the capability to remotely view a scene in real time. Donnelly wrote a letter to the Department of Justice supporting Fort Wayne's request.