Washington, DC—Today, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) convened a group of bipartisan mayors to discuss the rise in violent crime in cities across the country and how mayors are responding to it. This meeting followed up on critical sessions mayors held on the topic during USCM’s 90th Winter Meeting last month. Kansas City (MO) Mayor Quinton Lucas, Chair of USCM’s Criminal and Social Justice Committee, and Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, Chair of USCM’s Police Reform and Racial Justice Task Force, led today’s virtual session.
During the discussion, Mayors shared a range of strategies and initiatives that are working in their cities to reduce homicides, other violent crimes, and the role of illegal firearms absent Congressional action. Thomas Abt, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and the Chair of its Violent Crime Working Group, provided a briefing on the findings and recommendations included in the Council’s recently released report, Saving Lives: Ten Essential Actions Cities can Take to Reduce Violence. At the conclusion of the session, Mayors pledged to continue to engage on identifying non-partisan solutions to these challenges.