Title
Applauding Philadelphia’s selection as a participant city in the Municipalities Reimagining Community Safety Initiative.
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WHEREAS, The National League of Cities (“NLC”), an organization of leaders representing over 19,000 city, town, and village leaders across the United States, in partnership with the Wells Fargo Foundation, has announced the launch of the Municipalities Reimagining Community Safety Initiative, in response to the need for coordinated local responses to upticks in violence in some cities; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia is one of five cities, along with Baltimore, Maryland; Dallas, Texas; Jackson, Mississippi; and St. Louis, Missouri, that will receive $1 million in investments, including pass-through grant funding, evaluation, coaching from local and national partners, and the opportunity to learn from one another as they create, update and implement aspects of their local safety plans; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia’s Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice and Public Safety has been working to reconnect and enhance relationships with community members after the isolation of the early COVID-19 pandemic, and it is hoped that this funding will greatly bolster its ability to continue engaging with communities and centering them in Philadelphia’s vision of community safety; and
WHEREAS, The Municipalities Reimagining Community Safety Initiative brings together elected leaders and staff, residents, and local organizations to pursue coordinated, equitable, community-centered, safety efforts, which, together, are intended to spur local action and implementation of recommendations and plans established in partnership with Black and Brown communities and paired with measurement and evaluation components; and
WHEREAS, Building upon NLC’s recent Reimagining Public Safety Task Force report, A Path Toward Safe and Equitable Cities, this initiative advances the work in cities to expand the use of civilian-led and community-based well-being and prevention-focused strategies with an emphasis on engaging those most impacted and centering racial equity; and
WHEREAS, With cities large and small across the country grappling with the ability to provide safe environments for all residents in the face of rising violence, despite generally low crime rates, the importance of comprehensive plans, innovation and data-driven solutions, all in pursuit of equitable community safety, are paramount; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Council of the City of Philadelphia, Applauds Philadelphia’s selection as a participant city in the Municipalities Reimagining Community Safety Initiative.
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