MIAMI – Miami-Dade County is pushing forward with its Peace and Prosperity Plan to combat gun violence.
The multi-million-dollar endeavor aims to stem the recent rise in crime and violence with firearms in the county.
“These tragic events over the last several days especially and just this past weekend are reinforcing that we must take immediate action to help make our neighborhoods safer,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
On Tuesday, a Miami-Dade County Commission meeting took place in which the plan was discussed.
Commissioners talked through the plan that intends to address the underlying causes of gun violence and poverty.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, commissioners voted and unanimously approved the plan, which calls for using nearly $8 million over the next two years on prevention, intervention, economic investment and re-entry programs.
Criminologist and chair of the University of Miami’s Sociology Department Dr. Alex Piquero was one of the people consulted on the project.
“There are things that we can do right now, today, tomorrow, and implement those into the community and not wait, that’s why I think this is a really good plan,” said Dr. Piquero. “This is one of the strongest evidence-based programs that’s holistic. It looks at people, it looks at places, it’s short term and it’s long term.”
In December 2022 officials plan to evaluate the plan’s progress to determine what’s working and what isn’t, so they can decide where future investments should go.
Officials are also stepping up law enforcement measures in the short-term, to try and stop the ongoing violence currently seen across the county.
“We’re mobilizing all possible resources and leveraging new technologies to expand our enforcement and public safety protection, and the first of these parallel phases we are undertaking now is to stop the bleeding and stop the cycle of gun violence,” said Levine Cava.
The commission plans to vote on the Peace and Prosperity Plan sometime Tuesday afternoon.
Read through the full proposal below:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON PEACE & PROSPERITY PLAN
A closer look at Miami-Dade’s multimillion-dollar plan to address gun violence