U.S. Conference Of Mayors President Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Urges Attorney General, Other Top Federal Officials To Take Immediate Action To Help Cities With Homicide Spikes

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Conference President and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was among 11 mayors who attended the Attorney General's Summit on Violent Crime October 7 in Washington, D.C.  Rawlings-Blake briefed top Justice Department officials and the mayors, police chiefs, and U.S. Attorneys present on the current spike in homicides which her city is experiencing and actions being taken there to respond to it.

She also presented the Attorney General with a paper calling for immediate federal action that was developed during and after an August conference call of a small group of mayors whose cities are experiencing homicide spikes that she convened as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. That paper spells out specific actions the federal government should take immediately, both administratively and in Congress, to help cities experiencing these spikes respond to them.

The Conference's paper calls for immediate federal administrative actions relating to guns, personnel, prosecution, pre-trial practices, drug testing, and evidence.  It calls on Congress to provide additional personnel and funding for Second Chance reentry programs, enact sentencing reform, strengthen gun laws, and support technology.

Commenting on the meeting, Rawlings-Blake said:

"We're talking about loss of life in our cities, so this is an urgent issue for mayors whose cities are experiencing a surge in violence.  Mayors are looking to their federal partners for immediate help.   We have had such help in Baltimore and want to see the assistance we are receiving increase and become available to other cities that need it. 

"At the summit Attorney General Loretta Lynch demonstrated her recognition of the problems we are facing and her commitment to helping us address them.  Through the Conference of Mayors we will continue to work with her and other top officials of the Justice Department to get the support we need to reduce the violence that is surging in our cities."

Other mayors participating in the summit were Tom Barrett, Milwaukee; Muriel Bowser, Washington, D.C.; Rahm Emanuel, Chicago; Karen Freeman-Wilson, Gary; Michael Hancock, Denver; Mitch Landrieu, New Orleans; Mike Rawlings, Dallas; Pedro Segarra, Hartford: Francis Slay, St. Louis; and Martin Walsh, Boston.

About The United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

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SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors