We must ensure our city is a uniformly safe place to live, work and raise a family. My public safety plan is comprehensive in nature addressing real systemic change as well as the emergency of now – violent crime. It is designed to address the immediate need for new leadership and increased staff while prioritizing diversity, modern comprehensive training, and providing our officers the resources to prioritize community policing. While arrests for violent criminals are of course necessary, we simply cannot arrest our way out of crime. We need a comprehensive approach that is collaborative and community focused.
- Sophia is committed to fully fund violence prevention. Mayor Lightfoot only spent $5 million of $85 million appropriated to mitigate violent crime. As mayor, Sophia will fund $200 million to scale up anti violence programs that are proven effective and create an Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
- Moving to a 4-day, 10-hour, 2-shift system to guarantee that officers get more days off in a row, and put up to 50% more boots on the ground per shift.
- Committing to real criminal justice reform. We must address the cultural divide among officers and communities of color.
- Rapidly expanding alternative responses to 911 and developing additional pre-arrest diversion programs for substance abuse, mental health issues, and extreme poverty.
- Embracing technology with drones as first responders, camera-linked smart holsters, and more POD cameras.
