Today, the Center for Policing Equity released the following statement on the Biden Administration’s American Jobs Plan, which includes $5 billion over eight years in support of evidence-based community violence prevention programs:
We applaud President Biden’s historic proposal to fund evidence-based community violence prevention programs. Americans across the country have been calling for a reimagining of public safety systems that break the cycle of trauma in our communities. This investment of federal dollars is an opportunity to build equitable systems of public safety that align with Americans’ desires, bringing peace and transformation to our neighborhoods. It helps put communities in charge of defining safety and keeping themselves safe. This is the path that the nation needs to take if we want to ensure that the most vulnerable among us are able to enjoy the best of what the country has to offer.
We encourage Congress to support this necessary investment as part of the American Jobs Plan, which will uplift our nation’s most vulnerable communities, many of which are Black and Brown communities that have been long ignored in investment opportunities.
This historic commitment to community groups is also an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate that putting communities in charge of keeping themselves safe has collateral benefits to mental health, substance use, and economic prosperity. We look forward to working with our community partners to advance the science of community empowerment in the public sphere.
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About Center for Policing Equity: As a research and action organization, Center for Policing Equity (CPE) produces analyses to identify and reduce the causes of racial disparities in public safety. Using data-driven approaches to social justice, we use science to create levers for social, cultural and policy change. Center for Policing Equity also holds a 501(c)3 status.