As crime continues to rise in the country, mayors and law enforcement officials are meeting at the White House on Friday to discuss more funding for public safety programs.
In response, President Joe Biden is said to urge states and cities to use unspent money from last year’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package to fund crime prevention, and hire more police officers, NBC News reports.
The White House is also stressing officials to spend the money before the summer months quickly approach, noting that historically, that’s when violent crime rises.
At least $10 billion from the American Rescue Plan, which Congress passed in March 2021, has already been committed to public safety programs — including domestic violence prevention efforts, drug abuse and mental health services, and bonuses for hiring and retaining police officers, the White House said.
In addition, $350 billion from the rescue plan went to help governors, mayors and other local leaders support their responses to and recovery from the pandemic
1 Comment
Funding to spend on ¨prevention¨ before street violence increases during the summer seems like good news. But the solid science that identifies proven solutions that prevent violence before it happens shows it takes a few years. Tailoring prevention nationally and locally to reduce violent crime takes planning and skills, which takes time. See http://bit.ly/2lygW58
Yes use these funds for
.Outreach to young men engaged in violence, including in emergency rooms
.Changing community norms to what does not support gender-based violence
.School curricula to increase self management to stop violence
. Employment and mentoring of young men
But also use these funds to sustain effective solutions that will reduce violent crime by 50% or more over a few years. So use some funds to:
1. Raise awareness to make decision-makers and the public aware of what works
2. Train human capacity to plan and implement violence prevention
3. Use safety monitor tools to guide decision-makers on science, implementation, and measuring results
4. Multiply success stories to network science, guidelines, and pathfinder successes
5. Provide adequate and sustained funding for prevention