Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams released the following statement after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an additional $10 million in funding would be allocated to Cure Violence groups under the Crisis Management System. The Public Advocate has long called for expansion of the program.
"The investment announced today should be applauded. Of course more is needed, but today is an acknowledgement that what many have been saying for many years - what we continue to say today, even more emphatically, is true - public safety does not equate to policing. Investing in community groups doing the work of interrupting violence on the ground through engagement with credible messengers works. The additional funds and expansion of the Cure Violence program in the Mayor's Office to Prevent Gun Violence to more of our city will save lives.
"When we first pushed for these new strategies- these grassroots alternatives to over-policing- we were shouted down by those who said we were inviting violence on the streets. Now, with even more data on our side, they stand corrected. I'm incredibly proud of the work that's been done since the first pilot program was funded eight years ago, with just under $5 million. Still, as the budget for this initiative is around $40 million, the NYPD's remains close $6 billion.
"If the administration is truly committed to community-driven solutions to gun violence, it can demonstrate that by increasing and baselining funding to make Cure Violence a permanent part of our city's approach to public safety. It can also commit to shifting resources away from a police response in other areas - such as mental health crises - and toward a public health response. In this time of fiscal constraint many if us have identified $1 billion dollars can be repurposed. But right now, this Mayor is not a credible messenger on true, transformational policing reform. With more and even bolder announcements like this my hope is that changes."
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