Focus on Real
Solutions to Violence

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The Bronx has the highest rate of violent crime in the entire State of New York, yet does not have access to resources and programs used by other communities that are proven to reduce violence. We need real solutions to the deep-seated problems that perpetuate violence—not fearmongering and finger-pointing. We need to invest in the Bronx, stop cycles of trauma, and challenge those who falsely blame bail and other needed reforms for violence.

 

To do that, Tess will:

 

• Expand and support community-based interventions, like violence interrupters and hospital-based trauma centers. These programs help break the cycle of violence by providing timely and necessary assistance for victims of violent crimes. Studies show that these programs are some of the best violence-prevention tools. 

 

• Improve physical spaces in the Bronx in ways shown to curtail violence. Studies also show that changes in physical environments can work to prevent violence before it happens. Tess will push for improvements in lighting, blight remediation, and increased access to green spaces and safe places for children to play. 

 

• Advocate for community investment. At the state and local level, Tess will demand that Bronx communities receive the resources they need and will join the calls for increased funding for housing, healthcare, and education, as these are fundamentally necessary for public safety. 

 

• Focus office resources on solving violent crimes. Tess will restructure the office to focus more staff—prosecutors, analysts and investigators—on solving violent crimes. Murders and shootings, and especially murders of young Black and Latino men in pockets of the Bronx, too often go unsolved. Sexual assaults throughout the borough are under-investigated and under-prosecuted. 

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• Increase community trust and witness support. Crime-solving often depends on the help of the communities who witness and experience that harm. Tess will focus more resources and staff on building community trust and support so that people who witness a crime are more comfortable coming forward.

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