Public Safety Group - May 9

A City That Works - May 9, 2008
Public Safety Discussion Group at Klein JCC

What does this goal mean to you?

• Feel secure.

• Able to go out in the evening.

• Trees are cut for safety.

• Be able to open windows at night and not fear someone will come in to steal from me.

• Only people who can read English get licenses.

• Few absentee landlords.

• Feel safe taking regional train and the El at night.

• Eliminate the homicide rate.

• Clear contact in city hall for fire prevention.

• Criminals (particularly felons) spend full time in jail.

• More businesses come into the city, more jobs means less crimes.

• Feel safe in parking lots.

• Get rid of illegal drug sales.

Performance measures (What success would look like)

• Safe schools:

    → Increase the percentage of children in after school programs by 10% or more each year.

    → Reduce gangs.

    → Reduce truancy by 20 percent each year.

• Increase parent responsibility.

• Police walking the beat know what’s going on – they are visible and know us.

• Police patrol shopping center parking lots – in cars and walking around and talking to citizens.

• Police talk with children regularly in schools:

    → Get to know the children personally.

    → So children learn to know and respect police.

• Violent criminals spend full terms in jail.

• Support the “Guardian Angels” – subsidizing their fares on SEPTA:

    → See how this is done in other cities

• More control on absentee landlords to reduce low income/irresponsible renters.

• Police are visible on subways and busses.

• Reduce the number of abandoned houses by X percent a year.

Customer-service standards

•Respond to 911 calls within 9 minutes (same for all calls –health, burglary, etc.).

• Competent response of phone when you call 911:

    → Indicate they understand my question/complaint/plea:

    → Treat me with respect.

    → Don’t put me on hold.

• City offices call me back to tell me how my problem is being addressed/fixed.

• 311:

    → answer my question.

    → respond quickly.

    → get me to the right person with only one call.

Report by Harris Sokoloff