Let’s talk about public safety.
Some politicians are exploding funding for surveillance programs and worse under the guise of ‘fund the police,’ when in fact police budgets are already at some of their highest levels in U.S. history. This is happening because polling has become more important than outcomes. And the saddest part is that the communities actually struggling with public safety (and not just hearing about it on TV) don’t get the real data-driven investments they need to reduce harm.
Playing political football with people’s safety results in a lack of serious policy discussions or evidence-based solutions. If you look at NYC, what are the evidence-based reasons for resuming unjust torture practices in the form of solitary confinement at Rikers? Where’s the evidence to support reviving the plainclothes unit, a special “anti-crime” unit where police officers dress as civilians? Despite being 6% of the force, the plainclothes unit was responsible for 31% of fatal shooting incidents over 20 years.1
Unfortunately, when communities that struggle the most with public safety don’t receive the investments necessary to reduce violence and harm, then the harm continues. Politicians then advocate again for non-evidence based policy and the cycle continues…rinse, repeat.
That’s why Alexandria is fighting for honest, evidence-based conversations and solutions surrounding public safety.
A data-driven approach to reducing youth violence has been deployed right here in the Bronx. Stand Up to Violence (SUV), a cutting edge program run out of Jacobi Hospital, uses therapists, doctors and community leaders to address the generational trauma and mental health challenges at the source of so much violence. So far, it has reduced recurrence of violence among participants by more than 50%. And Alexandria recently fought for and won additional funding so that the program could continue to grow!
If we want to reduce the number of people in our jails, the answer is not to build more of them. It’s time to support our communities, not throw them away.
Thank you,
Team AOC
1 - The Intercept
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