Gun Task Force reviews first draft of recommendations to Cape Council at last meeting

Cape Girardeau’s Gun Violence Task Force reviewed its first draft of recommendations for the Cape Girardeau City Council on Thursday, Dec. 5, at City Hall.

The Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri (CPSEMO) also presented to the committee about its efforts and plans to collaborate with the community to address gun violence.

CPSEMO executive director Melissa Stickel said one of her recommendations to the council would be to form a city-led social services committee.

“There are communities all around the nation that are doing something very similar,” Stickel said. “It falls under the city and allows the commission to hear what’s going on in the community from local nonprofits. It allows that information to channel up to the City Council on a regular basis.”

Stickel pointed out in her presentation there are committees doing something similar in Columbia, San Antonio, Seattle and Rockford, Illinois. Stickel said many more cities are doing it.

The task force made the decision to add the formation of a city-led social services committee to its list of recommendations. Stickel said these committees are most commonly city-focused and not countywide.

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce president Rob Gilligan asked whether staff are needed to carry out the committee. Stickel responded by making a comparison to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

She said it would have a chair and a co-chair with individuals appointed to the committee. Stickel said one difference is that the committee wouldn’t have to have a whole department behind it; she said it’s predominantly about listening, hearing, understanding and gathering information.

In the committee’s draft, issues were addressed about city agencies, with the first one being law enforcement.

“First one is to maximize resources available for law enforcement activities,” co-chairwoman Jessica Hill said. “So there’s three goal points there, basically improved recruitment, retention, enrollment. Note that a dedicated funding stream is needed to continue to innovate within the existing budget.”

Hill said there also will be encouragement to continue and grow efforts in maintaining safe neighborhoods and rental properties. She said they also would encourage increased participation in the Cape Girardeau Police Department’s crime-free multi-housing program.

Committee member Laura Selbo said something to consider would be to put the numbers for anonymous tip lines or QR codes on the crime-free multi-housing program signs on the participating properties.

Committee member Leslie Washington said there needs to be an action plan and a call to action from the community included with the presentation.

Hill said that juvenile justice reform needs to be talked about, but the City Council can’t necessarily take action on it. However, the community needs to know about it. Cape Girardeau Public Schools assistant superintendent of social services Mandy Keys said as part of the recommendations, they need to state that nothing can be about juveniles carrying weapons as long as it’s not a weapon-free campus.

Selbo responded by saying they also need to bring attention to other issues in the juvenile justice system along with that law.

Gilligan told the committee, “We believe this should be one of your highest priority advocacy issues for the City of Cape Girardeau. So when you communicate what are the priorities of the City of Cape Girardeau to legislators at the state level and even at the federal level, juvenile justice reform is impacting the safety of our citizens, the safety of our students and the ability to grow. It is a priority issue for us, and that’s the action steps of the city that becomes their advocacy position, that we think they should formally take and then communicate all this.”

According to the task force’s current schedule, it will present its final draft of recommendations and concerns to the City Council on Monday, Jan. 6.