Public Safety Policy – James Solomon for Mayor

FACT SHEET: James Solomon’s Plan to Keep Jersey City Safe

City officials are not taking their responsibility to protect public safety seriously enough. As Mayor, James Solomon will get more cops on the street preventing and solving crimes, revive morale by giving police the support they deserve and treating them with dignity, and bring the City’s emergency response system into the 21st Century. He will also keep our Fire Department strong and independent, making sure to preserve the Department’s Class 1 Insurance rating, which places it in the top 1% of departments nationally, and keeps insurance costs down for property owners. This builds on the plans he has already announced to fix the broken 911 dispatch system, and build workforce housing for first responders including police officers and firefighters so they can afford to live in the community. Additionally, James will invest in the city’s grassroots non violence organizations to address the root causes of violent crime. In order to accomplish this, James will:

Improve our Police Force: More officers on the beat, better morale and the nation’s best mental health crisis response system.

Increase the police force by 100 officers, and streamline the command structure and specialized units to get more officers back into the community.
Respect and recognize officers by bringing back the annual awards ceremony, and providing advancement opportunities based on merit and performance, rather than political connections.
Bring back a well-staffed traffic enforcement unit, and fight to get speed cameras in school zones and other key safety areas.
Improve both community relations and officer response times by eliminating mandatory fixed posts, returning flexibility and resources to commanders in the field.
Ensure accountability for both residents and officers by calling on the State Legislature to pass legislation authorizing a Civilian Complaint Review Board with investigatory and disciplinary authority, subject to appropriate safeguards.
Build the best-in-the-country mental health crisis response system by fully connecting it to 911, sending only clinicians for non-violent cases, and pairing them with police when safety is a concern.

Keep our Fire Department first-class and independent.

Only candidate to commit to NEVER merging JCFD with any other fire department.
Eliminate the wasteful Public Safety Director position, instead having separate police and fire directors who report directly to the Mayor.
Stop dangerous firehouse closures and ensure full staffing for fire apparatuses.
Strengthen enforcement for fire hazard prevention and direct the municipal prosecutor to seek maximum penalties for fire hazard violations.
Ensure that all JCFD firehouses are brought up to acceptable, modern working conditions.
Continue to invest in top-tier training and equipment for firefighters.

Invest in grassroots anti-violence efforts.

Increase funding for evidence-based violence prevention programs in Jersey City.
Support non-violence organizations with office space, non-profit technical assistance, City support for community events, and access to crime data.
Implement evidence-based public health responses to violent crime, like CURE Violence, and increase the availability of youth development initiatives like summer jobs and after school programs
Launch a city-wide Neighborhood Watch program to train residents in crime prevention and strengthen communications channels between residents and the JCPD.

FACT SHEET: James Solomon’s Plan to Keep Jersey City Safe

Improve our Police Force: More officers on the beat, better morale and the nation’s best mental health crisis response system.

Keep our Fire Department first-class and independent.

Invest in grassroots anti-violence efforts.

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