Mayor Eric Johnson announced Thursday the creation of the Mayor's Safe Communities Initiative Fund.
Sponsored by the Community Foundation of Texas, the fund accepts donations to fund crime reduction programs and initiatives recommended by the Mayor's Task Force on Safe Communities. The donor, who wished to remain anonymous, agreed to start the fund with a gift of $50,000.
“Many of society's systemic negative effects are resolved in the hands of law enforcement. But public safety is not just the responsibility of law enforcement, it is everyone's responsibility,” Mayor Johnson said. “The task force has shown us how we can reduce violent crime with proven, data-driven and community-supported strategies. This fund will help turn the task force’s recommendations into reality. This means safer neighborhoods where we don't have to rely as much on the police.”
The task force made four main recommendations in its report:
- Restore dilapidated buildings and abandoned sites in areas of high violence.
- Add outdoor lighting in areas where night-time violence is most severe.
- Use schools to provide group support and teach children to pause before acting.
- To prevent resolvable conflicts from escalating into gun violence, we hire and train trusted messengers from within high-violence areas as “violence interrupters.”
This recommendation is supported by extensive research into best practices used across the country. Eight prominent criminologists supported the task force's report in a letter. The report can be viewed here.
To donate through the Communities Foundation, please visit https://portal.cftexas.org/.
“Our CFT vision is to build thriving communities for everyone, so we are grateful for our partnership with the City of Dallas and Mayor Johnson, and proud to steward the fund in support of the Safe Communities Initiative. ,” said President and Chief Dave Scullin. CFT executive officer.
