LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- To Metro Council President David James, the crime alerts that are sent to his phone almost daily are overwhelming, discouraging and painful.
"To see our citizens — our children — being killed," said James, a former police officer. "You know, every time I receive a message about something like that, it hurts my heart."Â
With Louisville in the middle of an historic spike in violence, James and others say the city can't simply reverse the trend with more police and more arrests.
"We have to try some other things in addition (to policing) to try and make our community safer," said James, who represents District 6. "Because right now, it's not very safe."Â
In his budget request for next year, Mayor Greg Fischer called for reimagining policing. While his budget request keeps the Louisville Metro Police Department's funding at a steady level, it also pumps more money into crime prevention and intervention techniques.Â
A pillar of that initiative is growing the budget of the city's Office for Safe and Health Neighborhoods (OSHN), a department that uses nontraditional techniques to attack the root causes of crime.
Fischer's budget triples that department's funding from about $1.5 million to roughly $4.4 million.
"We're investing in public safety like we haven't before," said Monique Williams with OSHN during a Monday budget hearing.
In the hearing, the office got a chance to explain how it would use that extra funding, but for James and other council members, there was a problem.
"I didn't hear a lot of specifics," James told WDRB News afterward.
Another council member agreed with James. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said they were "just not convinced" by the presentation because of the lack of specificity.
While the department explained that some of the money will be spent on an existing program that helps those injured in shootings and stabbings "pivot to peace," James wants more details.
"I did not actually hear how that was going to be expanded," he said.
To James, the extra scrutiny is warranted. In a previous year, OSHN's budget was slashed after what he calls a lack of accountability, oversight and execution at the department.Â
James hopes OSHN will be asked to participate in a second hearing to allow for more questions from council and more specific answers from department members.Â
To anti-violence activist Neal Robertson, the push for more specifics is a moot point. He doesn't think the $4.4 million in funding is nearly enough to make a difference in the first place.
"People are losing their lives, and we're talking about small things that we can help fix," he said.
Related Stories:Â
- Louisville mayor aims to strengthen city's public safety without increasing LMPD budget
- Metro Council could slash problem-plagued department that uses ex-cons to prevent crime
Copyright 2021 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
