By Laura DeKoven Waxman
August 11, 2008

More than 50 mayors and police chiefs from cities across the nation met in Philadelphia August 5 and 6 to develop an anti-crime agenda for the next President of the United States. The meeting was the first of five ’08 Mayors’ Action Forums, which Conference President Miami Mayor Manny A. Diaz is convening between early August and early October.

Opening the working session August 6, Diaz commented that mayors and police chiefs are bound together in a unique partnership, and, working together, can constitute a uniquely strong force. “We understand the crime problems we face in our cities, what we can do to prevent and respond to them, and what help we need from the federal government when solutions to those problems appear to be beyond our reach,” he said. “Clearly, many of these problems are national problems which require national solutions,” he continued.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter cautioned that crime problems cannot by solved just by putting more cops on the street. He discussed the fact that an overwhelming majority of criminals are dropouts and his city’s efforts to reduce the drop-out rate. He also described efforts to ease the reentry of released prisoners to the community by providing a $10,000 tax credit to business that hire ex-offenders.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey briefed the mayors and police chiefs on Philadelphia’s current crime statistics. He reported that in 1995, Philadelphia received $31 million in federal funding; this year it is receiving $3.5 million. He suggested that in addition to sworn officers, city police departments need skilled professionals in areas such as forensics and analysis. He also commented that re-entry efforts should start with sentencing, not with release from prison or jail.

Among the police chiefs present were John Timoney of Miami, who serves as President of the Police Executive Research Forum, and Gil Kerlikowske of Seattle, who serves as the President of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. Timoney said that there is a legitimate role for the federal government in law enforcement, and called both for funding for additional police officers and for non-cost assistance, such as setting national standards and protocols for DNA testing.

Kerlikowske called for more federal help in areas such as prevention and intervention, training and technical assistance, and research. He said that the federal government has a unique and special role, but it hasn’t “stepped up to the plate as it should have” in recent years.

Elizabeth (NJ) Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, who chaired the discussion on crime during the mayors-only strategy session held during the Miami annual conference in June, briefed the mayors and chiefs on the issues covered. These included measures needed to prevent young people from joining gangs and ways of reducing gun violence, including tightening loopholes in the instant check system, reinstating the assault weapons ban, and tightening gun dealer regulations. Also discussed were the need to restore funding in the COPS and Byrne JAG programs, and to make homeland security funding more flexible and send it directly to cities.

Rochester (NY) Mayor Robert Duffy, Chair of the Conference’s Criminal and Social Justice Committee, discussed the need to invest in young people through after'school and other programs that, among other things, will improve high school graduation rates. He also called for providing job training, education and substance abuse treatment to inmates while they are in jails and prisons so that when they are released they are ready to hold a job. Duffy brought with him to the forum two young people who are members of his Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council – Agapé Towns and Shanterra Randoe.

Louisville (KY) Mayor Jerry Abramson, who served as President of the Conference of Mayors when the organization brought mayors and chiefs together to develop an anti-crime agenda which they presented to President Bill Clinton and lobbied for on Capitol Hill, discussed lessons learned from that experience. He stressed the fact that the mayors and police chiefs talked in terms of a partnership with the federal government, acknowledging that local governments have a funding responsibility as well. He encouraged the mayors and chiefs to identify four to six agenda items that will make a difference and to be ready to “hit the ground running” with the next President.

Diaz, assisted by Timoney, led the mayors and chiefs in a wide-ranging discussion of the crime problems they face in their cities, what can be done to respond to them, and what help cities need from the federal government when solutions to those problems are beyond their reach. Many recommendations emerged from the discussion, which lasted several hours. At its conclusion Conference CEO and Executive Director Tom Cochran summarized what had been said and grouped the recommendations into five broad areas:

• American Investments

• Prevention

• Guns

• Gangs

• Drugs

• Executive Orders

Diaz said that a smaller group of mayors and chiefs would meet following the Philadelphia forum to further develop the Conference’s anti-crime agenda, which will be presented to the Conference of Mayors leadership when it meets in early October.

Following the working session, the mayors and police chiefs held a press conference in which they reported on some of the issues discussed in the working session and released a 124-city survey which provides a snapshot of current issues relating to crime and policing, including the impact of economic downturn and energy problems. Delaware Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. joined them at the press conference and at a lunch that followed it.