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Public Safety Plan

There are many issues that plague the City of Louisville that need to be addressed. As the next Mayor of Louisville, I will work diligently to allocate proper funding and resources towards mental health, substance abuse, illegal gun trafficking, policing, and inadequate housing. While there is no overnight fix to the numerous problems are facing, we can start to implement the following plans to ensure a safer Louisville. 

Mental Health Plan:

Kentucky is ranked in the top 10 states with the highest rates of serious mental illness, 4.96% of adults within the state currently suffer from a mental disorder. Education is the root to our solutions for changing the narrative in our community, without proper understanding of the challenges we are facing we will never be able to overcome them. To ignore our mental state is to deny true change, it is imperative that we address the mental health epidemic that our people are facing, we need to acknowledge that it is ok to NOT be ok. As your next Mayor, I will allocate 35% of the city’s budget towards the existing mental health resources and amplifying new programs for our residents. Below are some programs that I will make sure are advertised, properly funded, and implemented to restore our Greater City of Louisville.

  1. Mental Health Street Card: A list of all available mental health resources that includes a map and contact information. 

  2. Mental Health First Aid: A free program that is currently offered to adults and adolescents. This program has a magnitude of courses that are offered such as Family-to-Family, NAMI Basics, and Homefront. These courses will educate our citizens on the existing mental health disorders and how to overcome them.  I will ensure this program is available in all community centers as well as any employers that agree for an instructor to come and train their staff.  You can learn more about the existing resource at their official website: https://namilouisville.org/

  3. Mental Health Task Force: The current Crisis Intervention Team Program only requires 40 hours of basic training; this is not enough time to truly become an expert in crisis intervention. I will implement mandatory in-service trainings where they will practice real life scenarios, study course curriculum, and continue ongoing training throughout the course of their career.  A specific department will be implemented that consists of trained and certified police officers in mental health and de-escalation, social workers, peer support specialists and behavioral health specialists. Within this task force we would have the following resources:

    • Non-police Urgent Response System: A non-police urgent response system to resolve any calls for service that are behavioral health related and non-violent with the goal of helping all parties involved avoid both arrest and hospitalization.

    • Mobile Crisis Unit:  A 24/7 Mobile Crisis Unit for individuals experiencing a mental health emergency. Services would include access for families, adults, and children of all ages. 

    • No-Barrier Respite Center: Partner with local no-barrier respite centers that are staffed 24/7 for police officers that encounter a citizen in distress but not in need of hospital level care. This will allow police officers to further assist and support our community. 

  4. Mental Health in the Workforce: According to the 2019 report from the United Health Foundation, studies show that the average adult in Kentucky takes 5 mental health days per year. Our workforce must lead from the front by adopting effective communication around mental health and encourage our employees to utilize the mental health days provided. If there are companies that have not implemented mental health days into their benefits package, then we need to provide educational training to said companies regarding the benefits and statistics of other companies who have. Employers will be encouraged to provide specific allocated days for employees to attend wellness conferences, seminars, etc.  

Substance Abuse Plan:

It is no myth that our city is experiencing major drug warfare, I will clean up Louisville by implementing the following changes:

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  1. Develop ordinances and places for safe drug disposal: These safe disposal sites will be in local churches and government buildings under supervision of law enforcement.

  2. Create community coalitions to work together across sectors: Join and start community coalitions that focus directly on the opioid crisis. Recruited members from diverse sectors of the community such as employers, youth workers, faith community leaders, school administrators, treatment professionals, local pharmacists, public health and services personnel, law enforcement, etc. will join forces and conduct educational sessions along with informational campaigns throughout the community. 

  3. Establishing drug diversion task forces:

    • Provide proper training for first responders in the use of Naloxone (Narcan) for reducing opioid overdoses. New intranasal Narcan makes administration easier for both law enforcement and emergency personnel. 

    • Have dedicated personnel to sharing information and investigations to combat the prescription fraud and illegal trafficking of prescription pain killers. We need to build awareness around our state’s prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). These efforts are critical to cutting down on “doctor shopping” and preventing opioid overdoses, but they are underused for a variety of reasons. Cities and counties are involving local doctors and pharmacies to build awareness of PDMPs and remove any barriers to be implemented fully. 

  4. Using drug courts to fight opioid addiction and trafficking: This approach reduces recidivism, encourages compliance with treatment, and supports families of drug court participants. It also reduces some of the burdens on jails by creating an effective diversion program.

  5. Disseminating information about state laws that encourage intervention: Good Samaritan laws protect citizens when they intervene to save a life due to an opioid overdose. Drug overdose amnesty laws allow people to call 911 when a friend or family member is overdosing without fear of being arrested themselves for opioid use or possession.

Illegal Gun Trafficking Plan: 

Louisville experienced 179 homicides and 109 suicides as of December 5th, 2021. On a per 100,000 people basis we have outranked Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Chicago in homicide rates.

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  1. Cross-Jurisdictional Firearms Trafficking Strike Force: The federal government announced this plan in June of 2021 to address the violent crime we are experiencing as a nation. There are five key market regions which are in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay Area, and Washington D.C. Louisville needs to be integrated and take full advantage of the existing jurisdictions to help stem the supply of illegally tracked firearms. To learn more about this federal plan please visit: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-launches-firearms-trafficking-strike-forces-address-violent-crime-crack#:~:text=July%2022%2C%202021-,Justice%20Department%20Launches%20Firearms%20Trafficking%20Strike%20Forces%20to%20Address%20Violent,key%20regions%20across%20the%20country.

  2. Implement Gun Amnesty Program: The ongoing threat of illegal guns to community safety has led the federal government to launch a permanent national firearms amnesty. The previous national firearms amnesty, which was held over a three-month period in 2017 led to more than 57,000 firearms being handed in. The city of Louisville will begin to take part in this national effort as it will be led by LMPD and partnerships with Community Leaders.The purpose of the program is for residents to be able to hand in an illegal firearm without any questions asked or penalties. Licensed firearms dealers will be recruited to be able to receive surrendered firearms as well as dedicated cites with trained personnel.  

Police Plan:

We must foster trust and have legitimacy in the community we serve. It is imperative to have meaningful law enforcement with accountability to the community as essential requirements in creating a strategy to address the violent crime in Louisville. 

  • Perform a comprehensive review of the police department: Implement changes such as the ban of choke hold, suspending of arrests for low level nonviolent offenses, and reviewing the existing pilot program for non-emergency calls. 

  • Implementation of the Mental Health Task Force: See Mental Health Plan for details.

Inadequate Housing Plan: 

Louisville has not had a comprehensive approach to the affordable housing crisis which has caused a negative impact on our community. We need to make affordable housing a priority in this city. Below are some ways to increase housing availability and reduce crime.

  1. Perform a city-wide housing and zoning review. 

  2. Create a legislation to help streamline the process for developers to apply for state and local low-income housing tax. 

  3. Engage a team of professionals to review the existing affordable housing program to find ways to improve or propose a more efficient plan to achieve an equitable and diverse city. 

  4. Utilize the existing local programs and resources to help people get in a better position to thrive. For example, Goodwill Industries has partnered with a program called Another Way, which targets high traffic areas and offers unhoused individuals an opportunity to get off the streets and work different jobs in exchange for lunch and $50 stipend for a day’s work.

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As the emerging leader, I do not make any promises to have it all figured out, but I will work diligently with the residents in my community to find the proper solutions required to restore Trust, Order, and Belief to our city. We have work to do Louisville!

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