COMMUNITY LEADERS & ELECTED OFFICIALS ENDORSE PEACE AND PROSPERITY PLAN
As the Board of County Commissioners prepares to discuss and vote on the Peace and Prosperity Plan, the following community and elected leaders endorse the Plan:
Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, Miami-Dade State Attorney
“As a Smart Justice prosecutor, I support the Peace and Prosperity Plan, which provides opportunities for members of our community and alternatives to arrests for low level offenses.
Coupled with strategic enforcement of our laws and the arrest and prosecution of violent offenders, particularly those offenses involving weapons, this plan can help us address gun violence over the long term. Success of this plan offers hope of long-term sustainability to the urgent, present need for enhanced law enforcement and prosecution of violent offenders.
This two-pronged approach of getting shooters and their guns, while respecting due process, off the streets, can enhance our existing Smart Justice strategies that aim to break the intergenerational cycle of violence.”
Carlos Martinez, Public Defender
“This plan is so important because it gets to the root of the cycle of gun violence. Creating pathways to opportunity for the highest-risk youth will help keep young people off the streets and out of the system.”
Monica Skoko Rodriguez, President of League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade
“The League of Women Voters of Miami-Dade is excited to support our County’s Peace & Prosperity Plan. In using funds to make our streets safer, control gun violence, and reimagine police relationships and roles within communities, we are hopeful that this plan will cull the gun violence epidemic that plagues our community.”
Sami Barrios, Moms Demand Action
“Our hearts are with all the mothers and families who have lost their sons and daughters during the recent wave of violence. We can’t wait any longer for our leaders to take action and address gun violence. The Peace and Prosperity Plan is a much needed investment in short- and log-term solutions to ultimately prevent violence and avoid more tragedies. All families deserve to live in safe neighborhoods and all kids deserve opportunities to grow up and fulfill their dreams. We are fighting for all our families and hope our County Commissioners do the same.”
Alex Piquero, Chair of the Department of Sociology & Criminology at the University of Miami. Professor Piquero is a world-renown criminologist who has worked with local, state, national and international leaders in crime policy.
“This plan – a holistic, evidenced-based prevention and intervention plan – is about right now, five years from now, and fifteen years from now. Working hand in hand with the community and law enforcement, this is the plan for Miami-Dade.”
