Walsh: Busy kids key to safe summer
City leaders and law enforcement officials plan to ramp up programming for youth this summer and increase police visibility in a combined effort to keep the streets safe from guns and violence.
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and police Commissioner William B. Evans said the city is particularly concerned with violence among “young kids.”
“We’re trying our hardest to solve this violence issue,” Evans said. “The only thing that we continue to have problems with is young kids shooting young kids, and that’s going to be our main focus to stop the violence this summer.”
Walsh said, “We did this meeting earlier this year because we had a little more activity in certain areas of the city. There’s an incredible amount of work being done to focus on the youth.”
The officials spoke at an event to detail the city’s summer safety strategy at Boston Police Department headquarters yesterday morning.
Walsh said efforts to improve and increase the number of summer jobs are underway and more money is in the budget to help individuals and families traumatized by violence.
Evans also said police want to engage more with the city’s youth.
“We do so much with the kids, but also talk about where we need to deploy,” Evans said. “We will deploy based on where the violence is, but we’re looking to get more visibility out there, in the playgrounds, in the parks, everywhere, with the whole idea of working with the community and prevent violence.”