SAFETY

Yemi is a parent to three young children, ages 9, 5, and 3. He will work to protect and keep our neighborhoods safe, not just for his family, but for all Colorado Springs families. Public safety is among the most essential functions of our city government. Yemi’s administration will strengthen public safety by overcoming staffing shortages, improving incident response times, ensuring that officers have the best training to fight crime, and addressing the frequent users of the 911 system. Yemi will rebuild trust and mobilize partnerships to reduce crime and humanize the badge.

As mayor, Yemi will…

Protect our families and keep our neighborhoods safe

1. Address police staffing shortages by adding more police academy training classes, increasing training facilities, and bolstering recruitment efforts, concentrating especially on women and under-represented minorities.
2. Equip our officers with the best tools and training to fight crime, emphasizing crisis intervention to address mental health issues in our community.
3. Invest resources to boost morale within the police department in order to reduce staff turnover. These efforts will include providing additional training and leadership development, encouraging work-life balance, and recognizing individuals for exemplary performance. 
4. Invest in our community’s relationship with law enforcement by expanding community initiatives and youth programs.  These initiatives include The Illumination Project, Pikes Peak United Way’s Productive Dialogue, CSPD’s Community Relations Programs, the Police Athletic League (PAL) and Play COS.
5. Prevent crime through increased partnership with policymakers and local nonprofit providers, focusing especially on expanding mental health and substance abuse treatment to the community.

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Prevent and end homelessness

1. Boost partnerships with local providers to increase services and access to shelter for homeless neighbors and families, especially with organizations focused on mental health care.  “Research shows that 71 percent of people experiencing homelessness have a mental illness or post-traumatic stress.” Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
2. Employ additional homeless outreach team officers to address homeless camps.  These officers are specially trained to compassionately serve our homeless neighbors by providing information and referrals for food, shelter, housing, and other services.
3. Expand the Colorado Springs Fire Department's innovative non-emergency servicesuch as the homeless outreach program and crisis response teams into the city’s general fund. These teams of behavioral health and crisis-trained specialists serve our homeless neighbors, respond to the frequent users of the 911 system, and help save thousands of dollars in emergency services, ensuring fire and police staff can respond to emergencies quickly.
4. Increase permanent supportive housing options through local partnerships, including Homeward Pikes Peak, Springs Rescue Mission, The Place, and other local providers. Supportive housing combines housing with case management and supportive services, and is an established solution to make homelessness nonrecurring.