Mayor Jane Castor, alongside the Democratic Mayors Association and Democratic mayors across the country, today highlighted the City of Tampa’s participation in “Mayors Stopping Crime.” As part of the nationwide effort in which mayors are taking action against rising crime and gun violence, Mayor Castor and Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor are working with other cities to implement best practices for keeping their communities safe, including:
Increasing Coverage of ShotSpotter:
- In October 2020, the Tampa Police Department increased its coverage area of ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system that helps save lives, deter crime, and make communities safer.
- This expansion includes one additional square mile of ShotSpotter coverage, which encompasses five schools and one park.
Utilizing National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN):
- NIBIN is a key tool that ATF's Crime Gun Intelligence Centers (CGIC) use to link violent shootings and the sources of crime guns.
- Since 2020, the department has taken more than 2,500 crime guns off the streets that have been uploaded into the NIBIN network, revealing links between violent gun crimes and informing investigators where confiscated weapons have been.
Robust Community Engagement:
- Tampa Police officers continue to work with the community to build relationships with all citizens. Officers attend community events as well as host several events.
- In July alone, the Tampa Police Department led multiple “Safer Summer” initiatives, to include hosting multiple Violent Crime Forums in the community, a larger version of the Front Porch Roll Call program offered year-round.
- The department also focused on youth in the community, with events such as Popsicles with a Cop, anti-bullying presentations, Bicycle Safety Rodeos, Parks & Rec ‘Stay & Play’ events, and ended the summer with numerous Back to School Bashes.
- The department also hosted a Youth Academy during the summer, educating teens on the law enforcement profession. These relationships build trust with the community and assist with the violent crime fight.
Mayor Jane Castor and Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor met with President Joe Biden and mayors from across the country at the White House to celebrate the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act - addressing gun violence and saving lives on June 1, 2022.
Mayors across the country have been on the frontlines of the national gun violence epidemic, supporting community-based violence intervention programs, taking guns off the streets and keeping them out of the hands of criminals, and utilizing federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds to bolster public safety measures such as hiring and retraining police officers and addressing case backlogs.
“Throughout my thirty years in law enforcement, nothing was more difficult than delivering the terrible news to parents that they had lost a child to violent crime. Violent crime can victimize individuals, families, friends and neighborhoods” said Mayor Jane Castor. “In Tampa, every week is a week of action when it comes to keeping our neighborhoods safe and standing-up for victims. We are working closely with local, state, and federal partners- alongside mayors from across the country- to end the cycle of violence and the root causes that can lead to it.”
“Mayors have attended the funerals and heard the stories of families destroyed because the wrong person had access to a deadly firearm. And as mayors in blue, red and purple states, we know gun violence is a national epidemic that requires immediate, national action,” said Mayor Levar Stoney of Richmond, VA and the President of the Democratic Mayors Association. “Mayors Stopping Crime: A Week of Action will showcase all the innovative ways Democratic Mayors across the country are fighting back to make their communities safer by being tough on crime and tough on the root causes of crime.”
Other participating mayors include Levar Stoney of Richmond, VA; Sylvester Turner of Houston, TX; Melvin Carter of St. Paul, MN; Justin Bibb of Cleveland, OH; Regina Romero of Tucson, AZ; Quinton Lucas of Kansas City, MO; Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, IL; Jack Bradley of Lorain, OH; Libby Schaaf of Oakland, CA; Todd Gloria of San Diego, CA; Caroline Simmons of Stamford, CT; Sharon Weston Broome of Baton Rouge, LA; Aftab Pureval of Cincinnati, OH; Steve Adler of Austin, TX; Satya Rhodes-Conway of Madison, WI; Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio, TX; Steven Reed of Montgomery, AL; Kate Gallego of Phoenix, AZ; Joyce Craig of Manchester, NH; John Ernst of Brookhaven, GA; Erin Mendenhall of Salt Lake City, UT; Jeffrey Mims, Jr. of Dayton, OH; Kathy Sheehan of Albany, NY; Mary-Ann Baldwin of Raleigh, NC; and more.