Public Safety

Real Priorities for Public Safety
By Sam Yoon

We have real public safety priorities to address in the City budget.

Last year, the Boston Police Department (BPD) went over its overtime budget by an incredible $17 million – an excess of more than 50%.

To put things in perspective, just a fraction of the excessive overtime spending would free up enough money to pay for comprehensive youth violence prevention and to keep the mounted (horseback) unit to patrol our parks.

The City Council had the opportunity to question members of the BPD about the FY10 budget. I took this chance to ask what steps the Department is taking to make sure it stays within its means – just like every other department is required to do. But we cannot have a discussion about overtime spending without putting it in the context of how we could make better use of those funds.

The BPD needs a new way of approaching overtime spending that brings accountability and oversight to the Department, and that allows us to focus on big-picture priorities for Boston.

Raising his family in the Fields Corner neighborhood of Dorchester, Sam is deeply concerned by the violence in our city and committed to comprehensive solutions. The city of Boston has a responsibility to provide safe streets to its residents.

Sam has proposed the innovative “Nickel for Public Safety” program – a modest half-percent increase in sales tax – to tackle violent crime and in particular the youth murder epidemic in Boston. Sam’s program would bring $35 million to the city that would be spent exclusively on prevention, policing and prosecution of crime. Boston has faced down the youth violence problem before, and it can do so again. But we must show the courage to properly fund programs that work.

Sam intervened and stood up for seniors when the Boston Housing Authority tried to replace security guards with cameras at elderly housing sites. He insisted that seniors deserve to feel safe in their own homes.

Sam has authored legislation that would increase the penalty for not reporting a lost or stolen firearm and has worked with businesses, churches and community leaders to develop a protocol to handle the trauma that occurs during the first hours and days following a homicide.

Sam stood up for the safety of Boston residents following the recent equipment failures at the Fire Department. He called the meeting that revealed that the current administration has no preventative maintenance plan for its emergency vehicles. As Mayor, Sam will change this because the safety of our firefighters and our residents depend on it.

Sam has worked with his colleagues to improve the quality of life in Boston’s neighborhoods by highlighting awareness of the after-hours party line, so residents can report parties that could become violent or disrupt a neighborhood’s right to quiet nights.

Some of the best of ideas to make Boston’s streets safer have come from neighborhood residents. That’s why Sam wants to hear your ideas.