Mayors, Police Chiefs Discuss Strategies to Prevent, Combat Gang Violence, Crime at White House Conference
Holder, Kerlikowske Promise Partnership with Cities
By Laura DeKoven Waxman
September 14, 2009
The importance of partnerships in preventing and responding to crime emerged as the theme of an August 24 White House conference on gang violence prevention and crime control. Mayors and police chiefs talked about how they work together, and discussed partnerships with community, social service, justice, and other agencies as well as with city residents. Federal officials – notably the Attorney General and the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy – discussed their partnership with local and state officials.
In his keynote address, Attorney General Eric Holder said that crime fighting is a local pursuit, but that “we can’t get smart on crime in isolation” and that “a rational, evidenced-based approach to crime must be part of a public safety partnership.” Holder described the five principles of successful efforts: innovations; be based on evidenced-based strategies; show results; involve learning from peers; and be collaborative.
“This is an administration clearly intent on listening to you and figuring out how we can work together,” Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske stated during his keynote address. He noted that, just as the Attorney General said we need to get smart on crime, we need to get smart on drugs. “A lot of different people with different voices should be brought into the discussion,” Kerlikowske said. “We all own the crime problem, and we all own the drug problem.”
In a departure from the past, Kerlikowske said that the Obama Administration looks at addiction as a disease that can be diagnosed and treated. It is a public health problem along with a public safety problem, he said.
Best Practices Dominate Discussion Time
During much of the meeting, the mayors, police chiefs, other law enforcement executives, prosecutors, and experts who were present described successful efforts in their cities.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino talked about the Cease Fire initiative his city used to help move young people at risk of crime and violence in the right direction by offering them work and other opportunities. He indicated that the effort had lapsed, but that he and Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis were reinstating it. Davis commented that Boston is changing the way police relate to neighborhoods and using data-driven analysis to target the right people and offer them options that would enable them to change direction. Menino also cautioned that guns are really the issue and said that until we get illegal guns off the streets we cannot solve the problem.
Newark (NJ) Mayor Cory Booker described some of the common sense changes that he and Police Chief Garry McCarthy have made, such as having detectives working on gang issues work the hours when gangs are active, rather than 9AM to 5PM Monday through Friday. He also said that they are working in partnership with many other agencies – federal officials, probation and parole, and foundations –to expand and enhance their efforts, and have seen a 42 percent drop in shootings and a one-third decrease in murders. Booker called for a greater investment in prevention.
Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline and Police Chief Dean Esserman discussed the substantial effort they have made to build relationships with Providence’s communities and said that these relationships really make a difference. Cicilline described a number of successful efforts, including the partnership they’ve formed with social service agencies to minimize the impact of crime and violence on young victims, and the use of crime data to target policing efforts. He said that the best thing the federal government can do is provide local governments with the resources needed to develop innovative efforts that meet local needs. Esserman commented that partnership is the theme of everything they do and that the police in Providence no longer work alone.
Rochester (NY) Mayor Robert Duffy commented that his city has used federal money for a variety of successful enforcement efforts. But while Rochester is “program rich, the results are not what we would like to see” because of lack of success in other areas. Specifically he talked about problems involving the school system – that three-fourths of the crimes are committed by high school dropouts; that despite high per pupil expenditures, Rochester’s schools face declining enrollment; and that those dropping out of school are ending up in gangs and dealing drugs. “Housing, education, and jobs have a bigger impact on crime than police strategies,” Duffy commented. He suggested that every child who stays in school be promised a job.
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon also discussed that everything is intertwined, specifically education, jobs, and public safety. He described some of the problems his city faces because of its proximity to the Southwestern border. He also described the interagency embedding in which the Phoenix Police Department engages, with city attorneys and U.S. Attorneys reporting directly to the Department, and Federal ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents working in the Department.
Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin discussed the importance of regional approaches to Atlanta, saying the city is judged by how it serves the five million people in the metro area, not just the 400,000 plus residents of the city. She called for incentives to operate in a more regional manner.
Several of the mayors said that the best decision they have made was hiring the right police chief. In several instances mayors and chiefs from the same city discussed the importance of being in daily communication with one another and working hard to support each other. In particular the mayors discussed the need to protect the chief from political interference so that he is able to manage the department in the best way possible.
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