Public Safety Committee Discusses Safe City Funding, Evaluation

The Public Safety Committee began discussions on a set of recommendations by 20 members of an anti-violence group on Thursday, three days after the .

The Safe City Commission met from January through this month to evaluate the causes of youth violence and come up with potential solutions. These included the possible establishment of a curfew and youth intervention center, an examination of the schools’ zero tolerance policy to determine its effectiveness, surveillance cameras for high crime areas, and a police-community effort to improve engagement between police officers and students.

Councilor Rob Pero, noting that the proposals ask for a total of $74,000 in annual city funding for various initiatives, asked if the programs receiving funding would be evaluated on a quarterly basis. The requested funding would supply $25,000 for , Writer’s Block Ink, Camp Rotary, and new programming; $24,000 to support job training for 20 at-risk students; $15,000 for an Out of School Time director to serve as a liaison between the city and youth programs; and $10,000 for “safe walk ambassadors,” or evening crossing guards who would act as a crime deterrent. Councilor Michael Buscetto III, chairman of both the committee and Safe City Commission, said it would be similar to agencies that make regular written reports to the City Council.

Councilor Wade Hyslop cautioned that sensitivity training for police officers will be wasted unless it is put into effect, and said he thought too much reliance was being placed on New London Youth Affairs. He also said he wanted to be certain that any organizations that wanted to weigh in on the topic have done so, and questioned how the city would choose the students to support for job training.

“I guess I should say I agree with the framework, but there are certainly some questions that need to be answered,” he said.

Buscetto said the extracurricular programs would focus on ages 12 and up. He said Adult Education has said that they currently have to turn away people for their job certification courses, and that the city could find youth to support in this overflow. He said an emphasis was being placed on New London Youth Affairs due to their ability to get grants and form a coalition among organizations.

Buscetto said no financial commitment will be made to the youth intervention center until further review, but that the recommendation is that the council consider establishing one. Capt. Bill Dittman of the spoke more on the need for such a center. He said that it would focus on youth who are out at night because they have nowhere else to go due to the situation at their home or other reasons. He said these children currently stay at the police department, with officers using their own money to buy them food.

“We need a place for the kids to go,” said Dittman. “We can’t just be sitting them down in the police department lobby, which is what we do.”

A representative from the said the city could pair with the organization in their work, which includes educational presentations in local schools about dating violence and other topics.

The Public Safety Committee will again discuss the Safe City Commission recommendations at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at .