Mayor Taveras, Governor Chafee Discuss Initiatives to Address Violence

New resources to be directed to expand community engagement efforts; coordinated, statewide approach to hold violent offenders accountable.

Providence Mayor Angel Taveras today joined with Governor Lincoln Chafee, Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Paré, Police Chief Hugh Clements and Rhode Island Police Colonel Steven O'Donnell to announce three new initiatives to address violence in Rhode Island's capital city:

Announcing the first pledge in the fundraising effort, Governor Chafee said he will support the allocation of a portion of the state's Google settlement to the Institute for the Study and Practice for Nonviolence.

1. Mayor Taveras will lead a fundraising effort to secure contributions to enable the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence to increase the number of its street workers on staff by 150 percent and bring this program back up to 10 individuals.
   
   
2. Starting in September, the community youth engagement program Project Night Vision will be expanded to provide programming in a third recreation center - the Joslin Recreation Center in Olneyville. The youth program will also operate six nights a week, compared to five nights currently offered.
   
   
3. Mayor Taveras also called on faith and community leaders to work with their congregations and the city's neighborhood associations to ensure that every neighborhood has an active, functioning volunteer crime watch association. The Mayor's Office of Community Relations will provide support and guidance to newly formed associations.

"There is no excuse in Providence for violence. None of us can end the violence alone and no single program or initiative will bring complete peace to our streets. We need to take a community approach, we need strong law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those who inflict violence and we need to make a commitment as an entire state to prevent violence and get illegal guns off our streets," said Mayor Taveras.

While crime is down across most categories compared to a year ago, the City has reported an increase in gun violence and the number of homicides. Mayor Taveras made note to reassure City residents and Rhode Island citizens that Providence is a safe and strong city and stressed the important work required to prosecute violent offenders and prevent violence in the first place.

Headquartered in South Providence, the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence has garnered national recognition for its work in partnership with the Providence Police Department to reduce violence in Providence. In addition to its signature Street Worker outreach program, the Institute provides nonviolence training, youth programming, victim support and juvenile reentry services. In recent years, budget cuts have forced the Institute to reduce Street Worker staff from 13 to four.

Project Night Vision works in partnership with volunteers and extended staffing from the city's Department of Parks and Recreation to more than 125 young people with programmed activities in the evening hours. The program currently operates Monday through Friday at Rogers Recreation Center and Sacket Recreation Center.

In Mayor Taveras' first year and a half in office, his administration has engaged residents and neighborhood groups across the city to more than double the number of crime watch associations in Providence. The Mayor's Office will act as a clearinghouse to connect interested volunteers with their local Police District Commanders and crime watch group chairpersons. Residents interested in forming a new Crime Watch or joining an existing organization should contact the Mayor's Office at Mayor@ProvidenceRI.com or call (401) 421-2489.

Today's announcement builds on efforts already underway to engage community members and strengthen intergovernmental partnerships. Mayor Taveras touched on several of those initiatives, including the Providence Police Department's Neighborhood Response Team law enforcement partnership with the state police.

"The residents of our capital city deserve the right to feel safe and secure. But we still have a long way to go toward achieving that goal, as Monday's triple homicide reminds us. That is why I have mobilized state agencies and departments - as well as resources - to work with the city and social service providers to take a coordinated approach to this serious challenge," said Governor Chafee. "I am confident that this partnership between the state, the city, and organizations committed to ending violence in Providence will produce results."

The City of Providence is also partnering with Attorney General Kilmartin and the U.S. Attorney's Office to take a strong stand against crime and push for tougher gun laws.

"Violence in our community cannot and will not be tolerated. To be successful in making our communities safer, it requires a commitment from our leaders, law enforcement, our community partners and the community itself. I commend Mayor Tavares for his leadership, and stand ready to work with the City and our law enforcement partners to hold those responsible accountable, protect our neighborhoods from these offenders and give the hard working people of Providence the chance to live, work and raise a family without the threat of gang and gun violence," said Attorney General Kilmartin.

In partnership with Workforce Solutions, the Parks Department and through a grant from the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training, as many as 600 young people are working in Providence this summer, developing skills that will help set them out on a productive path.

With a grant from WalMart, the Providence After School Alliance was able to double the number of youth served in its summer program this year.

Mayor Taveras is also a member of Mayor's Against Illegal Guns - a national coalition of bipartisan mayors committed to making city streets safer. In June, Mayor Taveras, Commissioner Pare and Chief Clements announced the launch of an anonymous Illegal Gun Tip Line - 1-855-776-7100 - that offers up to $1,000 for a tip that leads to an arrest and the seizure of an active, illegal firearm.

"I commend Mayor Taveras, Governor Chafee and all of our partners in law enforcement for their efforts to prevent violence. The community-based initiatives today will complement the work that City and State law enforcement does and will help make Providence a safer, more peaceful city for all," said Teny Gross, executive director of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence.