Mayor Cognetti talks public safety plan going forward for Scranton
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU)— On the heels of Thursday night’s murder arrest, Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti says she’s committed to public safety. The mayor sat down with 28/22 News Kathryn Oleary exclusively to talk about her public safety plan.
Feeling safe in your neighborhood is crucial. Mayor Cognetti says simple actions, such as staying alert to your surroundings and installing small cameras around your home can make a significant difference.
“Generally knowing your surroundings, knowing where you are and who is around you is always a good idea no matter where you are. Not just in Scranton but everywhere, so it’s important to take those measures to keep yourself safe, and having a camera at your house- one of those Ring-type cameras is a good thing we actually catch a lot of perpetrators of violence using cameras from neighborhoods,” stated Mayor Cognetti (D).
While Scranton will focus on funding its police, this year the city is seeing a change for the first time in several years. What it believes to be a record number of interest in people becoming police officers, and on top of more cops, Mayor Cognetti wants to integrate a violence intervention program.
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“A lot of cities have found that setting up these group violence intervention programs as independent organizations, not a city program, not a county program, can be really helpful in filling the gaps and we certainly in Scranton do have some gaps,” explained Mayor Cognetti (D).
The program aims to reduce murder and gun violence prioritizing deterrence over enforcement. The mayor believes this will build stronger relationships between law enforcement and the community.
“There are places, organizations, violence interrupters, that type of thing that exists in the larger cities that have dealt with violence on a much larger scale for a long time so we want to take a page out of some of those books and be able to figure out what’s right for Scranton,” said Mayor Cognetti (D).
The mayor adds she has spoken to mayors across the country who have benefitted from this type of program, and believes it can be a good option for Scranton.
“It’s generally a very small percentage of people that are the folks that cause a lot of the violence. It can be a really stark figure like 80/20, and there are a lot of cities that have that same exact pattern so if we can find programming in the right credible messengers to be talking with these kids and these families, we can really potentially make a dent and stop some of this violence before it starts,” stated Mayor Cognetti (D).
Mayor Cognetti says they will be working with the county, the D.A.’s office, and the Scranton Police to tease out this idea of the group violence intervention program. The research and surveys with this plan will come out in June.
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