Oakland city councilmember addresses public safety goals to reduce gun violence

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Oakland City Council member Loren Taylor says Oakland is in crisis. He held a press conference Thursday to lay out his plan to address gun violence.

He spelled out five goals:
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Doubling the solve rate for violent crimes

Cutting in half the number of unanswered 911 calls

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Doubling the capacity of successful violence interruption and crime deterrence programs

Reducing disparities in public safety response between different communities across Oakland and Alameda County

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Adequately investing in community/mental health services

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"It is time for those of us in positions of power and leadership to roll up our sleeves get to work. I believe we should be laser-focused on specific goals that we know will change the conditions on the streets," Loren Taylor said.



He was joined by a number of supporters, including Bishop Bob Jackson of Acts Full Gospel Church.

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"We have to come together as a city, not in silos where one group is over here, one is over here, one is over there...seems like we all need to get on the same page when it comes to gun violence because people are dying senselessly. It is happening too often in our city. People are crying out 'what do we need to do?' and city council member Loren Taylor has come up with a plan, the only one that has come up with a plan, and I think we need galvanize ourselves behind him and support the plan," Jackson said.

After Taylor laid out his plan, ABC7 News asked what happens next.



"There are a number of elements in the plan, some of which are on the council, some in city administration, some of which are our partners like the CHP, Alameda County, the Department of Probation. We will be following up with each agency and organization and hoping they will step up and help us solve this problem," Taylor said.