Mayor Gainey's administration provides update on Homewood 'All-In' initiative
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Over the past few months, local leaders have been fighting an uphill battle to reduce violent crime within the city.
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey provided an update on how his plan for peace has been helping in at least one neighborhood.
At the Homewood Community Empowerment Association on Kelly Street, Mayor Gainey, along with other members of his administration, hosted a follow-up discussion on how the "All-In" Homewood initiative has been reducing violence in the neighborhood.
"Murders have gone down in this community since we took office and I want to thank the community for that," he said.
According to Gainey and other city officials, it's thanks to new measures such as increased intervention staffers and more beat cops.
They also put the focus on building better relationships with residents as the city works to establish a new police class of officers who are from the city and slash some education requirements.
That's to help make the pipeline to police jobs more accessible.
"To be able to start in the City of Pittsburgh as a police officer, you needed to have 60 college credits," Mayor Gainey explained. "We're not going to do that anymore."
In recent months, the city has also taken strides to better improve health and safety in Homewood.
They've installed better lighting and traffic-calming measures, cleaned up overgrowth, and made sidewalks and streets safer.
Lastly, on Tuesday, they showed a preview of another improvement that will bring upgrades to the Homewood Fields.
It will be equipped for football, baseball, a pool, and a community center.
Construction is expected to ramp up next year.
Mayor Gainey also addressed gun violence in the city as a whole, especially when it comes to children.
He said the state needs to require more support and if not, allow the city to take matters into its own hands.