Josh Crawford is a policy leader for Public Safety Solutions for America and the Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives with the Georgia Center for Opportunity where he leads their public safety and re-entry work. Listen to the discussion as Josh shares his expertise analysis of the current problem and real life solutions for creating thriving communities.
n a recent announcement, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp revealed that the state will distribute over $83.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds as grants for 118 public safety projects across Georgia.
The aim of these grants is to bolster law enforcement staffing, support initiatives to reduce violent crime, invest in technology and equipment, and address personnel shortages stemming from the pandemic.
Kemp emphasized the significance of the grants in a statement following the decision. “Public safety has always been a top priority of my administration and will continue to be,” he said.
He further highlighted the need to provide resources for law enforcement agencies to combat surging crime.
Josh Crawford, director of criminal justice initiatives for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, applauded the state’s commitment to public safety.
“We commend Gov. Kemp and the legislature for continuing their commitment to public safety, especially in an environment where we continue to see high crime rates in cities across the state,” Crawford stated. “Ensuring safe communities requires involvement from all of us, including partnerships between state and local officials.”
Having a society without punishments might sound like a good idea, but in reality, it’s causing a lot of problems. Joshua Crawford explains why progressive prosecutors and the Democratic Party’s approach are creating difficulties.
Since 2015, American cities have experienced elevated levels of homicide and shootings resulting in thousands more lives lost and families torn apart. Then, in recent weeks, good news arrived: Nationally, cities had experienced a 12.5 percent reduction in homicides in the first few months of 2023 compared to 2022. “The murder rate is suddenly falling” read one headline. “Homicides are falling in major American cities” read another.
While these national numbers is welcome and mean hundreds of lives have been spared, it doesn’t tell the full story. The truth is, American cities are now deeply divided in their homicide trends. While some have enacted proven strategies and are seeing some success, others have doubled down on bad ideas and there, crime continues to get worse.
On the positive side, in our nation’s largest city, New York City, murder is down 12.5 percent through early June compared to 2022. Under Mayor Eric Adams, the NYPD has relentlessly pursued two of the major contributors to violence and homicides: guns and gangs.
Georgia is giving out more than $83.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief money as grants to fund 118 public safety projects across the Peach State.
Departments can use the funds to augment law enforcement staffing and support violent crime reduction initiatives or intervention programs. They can also use the money to invest in technology and equipment to address the uptick in violence and personnel shortages stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We commend Gov. Kemp and the legislature for continuing their commitment to public safety, especially in an environment where we continue to see high crime rates in cities across the state,” Josh Crawford, director of criminal justice initiatives for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said in a statement. “Ensuring safe communities requires involvement from all of us, including partnerships between state and local officials.”
Today, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced preliminary grant awards totaling more than $83.5 million for 118 community safety projects, including for addressing staffing shortages for law enforcement.
The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “We commend Gov. Kemp and the legislature for continuing their commitment to public safety, especially in an environment where we continue to see high crime rates in cities across the state,” said Josh Crawford, director of criminal justice initiatives for GCO. “Ensuring safe communities requires involvement from all of us, including partnerships between state and local officials.”
Crawford recently wrote an op-ed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on a path forward in reducing Atlanta’s juvenile crime rate. Read it here.
