Policing is more than just officers on the streets.
- Data-Driven Policing & Accountability:
- Community-Oriented Policing:
- Neighborhood Liaison Officers
- Integrated Crisis Response Teams: Not every 9-1-1 call requires an armed officer. It’s important to have trained Crisis Response Counselors available to respond to these calls.
- Gun Violence Prevention & Youth Investment: Tackle gun violence as a public health crisis. More importantly, we need to address root causes by expanding youth programs – funding after-school activities, job training, and mentorship in high-risk neighborhoods. By providing positive pathways for youth and engaging with at-risk individuals (through initiatives like violence interruption programs and gang outreach), we can stop the cycle of violence before it starts. Progress will be tracked in fewer shots-fired incidents and a decline in youth-involved crime.
- Safe Neighborhoods & Property Crime Reduction: Being progressive on safety means protecting residents from all crime while upholding justice.
- Property Crime Task Force-focus on car theft rings, porch piracy, and burglaries. This includes partnering with neighboring jurisdictions and state authorities to bust chop shops and improve prosecution of repeat offenders. Improve street lighting, expand neighborhood watch/block programs, and use targeted surveillance tools (with proper privacy safeguards) in high-theft areas.
- Police Training, Recruitment & Diversity: culture of respect and accountability.
Protection Against Environment Injustice
*Environmental injustice disproportionately affects marginalized communities—those living near factories, landfills, or in flood-prone areas often lack the political power to fight back. As people of faith, we must speak up. This must include advocacy for clean air, safe drinking water, and protection from climate hazards. This is about loving our neighbor in real, tangible ways.
*Research consistently shows that minority and low-income communities are more likely to live near industrial facilities, waste sites, and other sources of pollution, leading to higher exposure to harmful substances in the air and water.
*Disadvantaged communities often have less access to parks and green spaces, which can offer respite from pollution and extreme heat. Historical Disadvantage:
*Redlining and other discriminatory practices have concentrated minority and low-income populations in areas with environmental hazards.