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San Bernardino commits $1 million toward violence prevention efforts

San Bernardino County Sun - 10/12/2021

Oct. 7—San Bernardino plans to commit $1 million in American Rescue Plan funds to violence prevention efforts.

For weeks, community members have implored the City Council to invest in the Violence Intervention Program, a city-run collaboration with community groups, schools and others that uses a multi-prong approach to reduce crime.

After much debate Wednesday, Oct. 6, city leaders agreed to do so.

All six council members present for the vote favored the move.

Councilman Juan Figueroa recused himself ahead of the discussion.

"It's a simple remedy for me. You sit up here, you get elected and you are supposed to help people and not quibble over money that we have," Councilman Damon Alexander said Wednesday. "If we want to make our city safe, let's invest in people."

Presently funded through a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the CaliforniaBoard of State and Community Corrections, the city's Violence Intervention Program aims to reduce gang-related homicides and shootings by 5% annually and reduce recidivism among program participants by 15% over the course of the grant.

According to a staff report prepared for the City Council Wednesday, the third-year program has generated a 10% reduction in gang-related homicides and a 17% reduction in gang-related shootings this calendar year.

Additionally, the program has enrolled and provided supportive services to 118 medium- to high-risk participants. As of Sept. 21, 80% of program participants remain arrest free and have not been revictimized, according to the report.

At this point, the city's annual investment is $410,000 for a program manager and maintenance of the required program database.

Federal dollars have gone toward bringing in community-based organizations Young Visionaries and HOPE Culture to assist with violence prevention efforts.

While staffers will return to the council with a plan for how to spend $1 million from the city's American Rescue Plan allotment, the money is expected to go toward hiring additional contractors to bolster outreach efforts.

"We're seeing a lot of crime in our city," Councilman Theodore Sanchez said from the dais, "and there are holes that need to be plugged and those holes will be plugged by bringing in new contractors."

Providing safety in the community "is our No. 1 responsibility," Councilman Fred Shorett added.

"That starts with police and fire," he continued, "but this certainly is something that should enhance and help with providing safety."

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