Stands with frontline public safety workers, anti-violence advocates to emphasize the positive approaches that will be the priorities of the Garcia administration.
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CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–April 4, 2015. Shootings and homicides have spiked dramatically in 2015 — and the responsibility for the devastation that this violence causes sits squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Emanuel and his wrong priorities and inadequate public safety policies, charge residents and anti-violence advocates.
They discussed the effective approaches to public safety at a press conference in Little Village that brought together community leaders, Chicago police officers, local ministers and mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who has been a passionate advocate for proven anti-violence strategies in Chicago’s neighborhoods.
“The mayor said that without good leadership the city will become a ‘horror flick,'” said Garcia. “The reality is that because of his neglect, far too many of our families are living in neighborhoods where shootings are a daily event – they are living that horror every day. What doesn’t get talked about enough is that when we engage with community leaders in a respectful partnership and ensure they have the resources they need, we can make our communities safe.”
The Mayor has slashed the ranks of frontline police officers, detectives, forensic investigators and related staff — but has failed to implement a coherent community policing strategy, argued the speakers, who called for comprehensive community engagement strategies to help keep neighborhoods safe.
“We cannot simply arrest away violence,” Garcia explained. “We need to prevent it. We need to move to community policing to create partnerships based on mutual respect and trust. We cannot give up on young people. We need to focus on restorative justice to help young people who have made mistakes get onto a positive path in life.”
Garcia introduced two neighborhood leaders who created effective after school programs to give neighborhood youth positive options. Pastor Victor Rodriguez of La Villita Church and Henry Cervantes discussed the programs and the importance of these programs as the foundation of effective public safety.
“This is the neighborhood where I’ve lived since I was a kid, and these are the neighbors who have worked on the front lines – creating programs for kids, providing safe spaces, and listening to our youth,” said Garcia. “It is their stories that need to be told, and that the next mayor of Chicago needs to take seriously.”
Amplifying this point was retired police officer John Zielinski, who said “these programs make it far easier to prevent crime.”
Garcia has long supported strategies that seek to prevent violence by engaging and working in partnership with communities to provide positive options for kids — from job opportunities in neighborhoods with high unemployment to restorative justice programs for troubled kids to reset their lives.
