Bike and walking patrols coming to downtown Indianapolis - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Bike and walking safety patrols are returning to Indianapolis.

The patrols ended two years ago because of costs, but Indianapolis Downtown Inc. says the patrols are coming back. They will be staffed with off-duty police officers.

The officers will work rotating shifts to help patrol the downtown area.

Eyewitness News reported earlier this month that the Indianapolis Metro Police Department was looking into how many additional officers they would need.

The changes are prompted not just by concerns about violent crime downtown but by a growing population. Huge construction projects are drawing new residents downtown by the hundreds. 

In early March, a man asked an IUPUI student walking home for the correct time. The student, who was too afraid to go on camera, says it was a ploy to catch him off guard.

"I pulled my cell phone out, so I am looking at it and the next thing I remember is, like, punches on my face," the victim said.

The robber got away with his wallet after a violent beating. That happened at night near St. Clair and California streets,

The student isn't the only recent downtown victim. A woman was knocked to the ground and robbed inside a parking garage on Wilson Street.

"I felt safe downtown. I never thought it would happen to me," said the IUPUI victim.