PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has announced a plan for the creation of a new Office of Community Health and Safety which will direct city resources to help meed the needs of the community in ways outside of traditional policing.
The proposed office would would house social services, public health and social work experts who could assist first responders in longer-term situations, operating under the co-direction of the Department of Public Safety and the Office of the Mayor.
A press release from the mayor’s office lays forth multiple goals and directives that aim to focus on issues like racism, violence, poverty and environmental health. The initiative would redirect city resources to meet community needs.
“Our public safety personnel are available 24/7 but often go into situations that are beyond the scope of their training. The individuals and communities they encounter need help beyond law enforcement or emergency medical attention,” Mayor Peduto said in the release release.
“This office will allow public safety to step back and determine what kind of support an individual or family needs and get them that help through social workers or other agencies so that we’re seeing people holistically and connecting them with more sustainable resources and assistance.”
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Mayor Peduto unveiled the plans as calls for police reform and defunding the police have sounded across the nation following George Floyd’s death.
A bill recently proposed by a city lawmaker has a similar approach as the Office of Community Health and Safety — redirecting money from the police bureau into something called the Stop the Violence Fund, which is a mix of social and violence prevention programs.
The fund, which would initially take 5 percent of the police budget and grow to 10 percent over 5 years, would mean a reduction in the number of officers, replacing some of them with social workers.
As for the Office of Community Health and Safety, the mayor’s office says they’ll work with public safety and city council to determine reallocation in the 2021 budget and find external funding opportunities for the initiative.
“This initiative will give the community relations units in all bureaus as well as all police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel the support that is critical to improving not just our high standards of service, but also our relationships with the community,” said Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich.
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June 13, 2020 at 02:04AM
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Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto Proposes Creation Of New Office That Would ‘Allow Public Safety To Step Back’ And Get People Longer-Term Help - CBS Pittsburgh
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