Where is Pittsburgh’s long-awaited Community Safety program?
Three years ago, calls for police reform prompted thenMayor Bill Peduto to create the Office of Community Health and Safety to relieve an overburdened police force, partly by sending social workers to handle incidents involving mental health, addiction and the unhoused. It was a concrete effort by the city to lessen and prevent potentially violent interactions between police and civilians for initially non-violent offenses.
It’s now 2023, and Pittsburgh City Controller Michael Lamb reports that despite having a budget of $5 million, the Office of Community Health and Safety has yet to send out a single social worker, even though the office, under Mr. Peduto, said it was hiring and training them. The office has 15 employees, and has spent approximately $100,000 on developing its response model. Mayor Ed Gainey initially supported continuing the efforts of Community Health and Safety, as part of his Plan for Peace.
Meanwhile, at a recent public meeting called by Councilman Anthony Coghill, D.-Beechview, police representatives described falling morale and fewer officers. At least a dozen resigned in January alone, leaving the city with nearly 100 fewer cops than budgeted.
Mr. Lamb, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Allegheny County Executive, believes Mr. Gainey should quickly select a new chief, speed up the hiring process for new officers, and follow through on the city’s commitment to programs like the one using social workers. He expressed frustration that, in the second year of the mayor’s term, so little has been accomplished on this initiative. He’s right, on all counts.
The Office for Community Health and Safety is an admirable idea. In New Mexico, Albuquerque Community Safety serves a similar role and has become a national role model, responding to 20,000 calls in its first year-and-a-half in existence. Meanwhile, the state of New Jersey has expanded its Arrive Together program, which pairs police and social workers, to ten of its 21 counties.
There are no shortage of models for Pittsburgh to follow in creating an effective community safety program that minimizes interactions with armed officers. But even the best idea is useless until it’s put into action. It’s long past time for that to happen.