Cape Girardeau’s Gun Violence Task Force to meet July 23
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – The City of Cape Girardeau’s Gun Violence Task Force will have an initial planning meeting on July 23.
The task force is expected to host a series of expert presentations starting in August resulting in a report to the city council in December.
“We have a great group of community and city leaders ready to dig into the issues affecting gun violence here,” said Mayor Stacy Kinder. “The task force will explore various systems and partnerships already in place, delve into what the city can or should do to support or improve them, and also consider what the city could be doing differently to combat gun violence. The goal of this task force is to develop thoughtful ideas of what might be appropriate work at the municipal level, ultimately to lessen the amount of gun violence we see here. It is the most pressing public safety concern we see on our city streets right now.”
The city committee work could result in recommendations to Cape Girardeau’s city council in December about city ordinances, policies and programs.
The committee could also identify advocacy or awareness priorities outside the scope of city government.
The topics to be covered this year will be partially determined in the first planning session. The members are expected to include a review of local data, chronic nuisance property policies and other current laws, nonprofit programs, support for at-risk youth, and successful case studies and initiatives from other communities.
“There is likely more we can do with our own ordinances and programs,” said Cape Girardeau Mayor Kinder, “and we’re open to new ideas that will help us support our own departments, and coordinate with the community.”
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