September 2004 · City Council 1999-2007
Securing Police Equipment and Safety Resources for the Third District
Crime in the Third District was not an abstract policy issue. It was personal. Residents I knew, people whose homes I visited, families whose children attended the same schools, they were the victims. And the police resources available to protect them were inadequate.
Working with Councilwoman Weaver, I secured funding for a mobile police command center and four ATVs at 39th and Prospect. These were not luxury purchases. They were essential tools that allowed police officers to establish visible presence in areas that patrol cars could not effectively reach.
The police trailer served as a full-time mobile police command center at 39th and Prospect, which was to be used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to improve police response in the area. The ATVs allowed officers to patrol alleys, vacant lots, and other areas that squad cars could not access.
The equipment funding was part of a comprehensive approach to public safety that I unveiled publicly and pursued through legislation and budget advocacy. The plan combined enforcement tools, community engagement, and environmental improvements.
Enforcement meant getting officers the equipment they needed and establishing visible police presence in areas where residents felt unsafe. Community engagement meant holding forums where residents could tell police what was happening in their neighborhoods. Environmental improvements meant demolishing up to 15 vacant and dangerous buildings, mowing vacant lots and alleys, and removing the tall weeds and illegal dumping that give criminals cover.
Public safety and affordable housing are inseparable. You can build the most beautiful affordable housing development in the city, but if residents do not feel safe walking from their car to their front door, the project has failed.
We believe every development should include a safety analysis. We evaluate crime data, lighting conditions, sight lines, and access patterns. We design our projects to maximize natural surveillance. This approach comes directly from my council experience fighting to make Third District neighborhoods safer.
This is what we mean by community engagement.
Not a meeting series. Presence, on their schedule, until something changes.