Mayor Johnson, Police Chief Eddie Garcia, other officials launch 'Summer of Safety' campaign
DALLAS — Mayor Eric Johnson, Police Chief Eddie Garcia, and other city and Dallas ISD officials on Thursday announced a new "Summer of Safety" campaign to encourage participation in the city's free and low-cost activities for young people.
The mayor and police chief launched the Summer of Safety effort outside of South Oak Cliff High School. Joining them were Public Safety Committee Chairman Adam McGough, Dallas ISD Trustee Maxie Johnson, Park Board President Arun Agarwal, Director of the Dallas Public Library Jo Giudice, South Oak Cliff High School Principal Willie Johnson, and others who are working to reduce violence in the South Oak Cliff community.
Each speaker discussed activities that are available this summer in Dallas to help keep kids safe and out of trouble while they are out of school.
Mayor Johnson highlighted his own initiatives and partnerships, such as SMART Summer with Mayor Johnson, a summer reading and education program for Dallas children; The Park and Recreation Department's Teen All-Access Pass, which gives Dallas residents ages 13-17 free admission to a collection of museums, water parks, nature centers, and other venues during the summer; and Dallas Works, the mayor's summer jobs program for Dallas youth.
Agarwal discussed the youth camps, recreation center activities, and aquatics centers that are available to young people.
Chief Garcia said the police department offers self-defense classes, midnight basketball, boxing programs, disc golf, movie nights, kickball events, and other programs.
Giudice said the city's library system wants volunteers and offers activities, such as music lessons, during the summer.
The mayor and other officials said they would continue to push out information during the summer on available programming and activities, and they encouraged others to do so as well.
"This is more than an awareness effort. It’s a call to action," Mayor Johnson said Thursday morning. "If you don’t have kids, you can help by volunteering this summer, by joining or starting a crime watch group, and simply by spreading the word.
"And if you do have kids, talk to them. Check on them. Make it your business to know where they are and what they’re up to. As critical as our law enforcement efforts are, we must work together to make our city safer. Because we must have each other’s backs."
The mayor's full remarks from the press conference and his official proclamation are below:
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Public safety is the number one priority for Dallas leaders, and we are working to end senseless violence with evidence-based solutions and community engagement; and
WHEREAS, the “Summer of Safety” is a call to action for everyone in our city to stand up against violence and help make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live; It represents a real opportunity to bring residents, nonprofits, businesses, governmental entities, and other stakeholders together under a common goal; and
WHEREAS, Violence prevention is vital as violent crime continues to rise in cities across the country; These efforts are especially critical during the summer months as juvenile crimes increase when kids are out of school; and
WHEREAS, Dallas is working to reduce violent crime through a “kitchen-sink” approach to public safety, which includes data-driven policing strategies and community-based programs, such as those recommendations by the Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Communities; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, the City of Dallas offers an extensive array of opportunities for young people to engage with healthy, productive programming over the next few months, including Dallas Works, SMART Summer with Mayor Johnson, and the Dallas Park & Recreation’s Teen All-Access Pass; and
WHEREAS, Anyone can be part of this public safety effort by talking to their kids about safety, volunteering in their communities, encouraging participation in summer programs offered by the City of Dallas and others, joining or starting neighborhood crime watches, and participating in other safety-related activities; and
WHEREAS, The City of Dallas renews its commitment to reducing violent crime and doing all that we can to help keep our residents safe this summer and throughout the rest of the year.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ERIC JOHNSON, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF DALLAS, do hereby proclaim summer 2022 as
THE SUMMER OF SAFETY
in Dallas, Texas
MAYOR'S PREPARED REMARKS
When I was growing up in this city, I was blessed with a hard-working and tight-knit family. But I wasn’t just raised by my parents or my siblings. And neither were many of the kids I grew up around.
That’s because in West Dallas and Oak Cliff, our communities raised us. In our neighborhoods, we didn’t have much. But we had each other’s backs.
When I wasn’t in school, the people in our community knew where I was, what I was up to, and whether I was about to get in trouble. And they made sure that my parents knew if I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing.
And my parents also saw to it that I stayed busy during the summer months when I was out of school.
That was back during the most violent period in our city’s history. And the underserved and overlooked neighborhoods where I grew up were among the most violent in Dallas at that time. Drugs were rampant. Shootings were commonplace. And infrastructure and family friendly amenities were sorely lacking.
A lot has changed since then in our city. Crime is down significantly since those days. And while we’ve had some challenges with certain types of violent crimes this year, we’ve enjoyed success with our kitchen-sink approach to public safety, which marries community-based solutions with data-driven policing.
And within our city government, we offer some amazing programming and amenities for our city’s young people while they’re out of school for the summer.
That’s what today is about. We know our police department will be working hard this summer to deter and apprehend violent criminals.
But keeping people safe isn’t just the police department’s job. It’s all of our jobs. It’s the jobs of our neighbors. Of our faith leaders. Of our schools. Of our libraries. Of our Park and Recreation Department. And of our private-sector partners who want our city to thrive.
That’s why I’m proud to announce that we’re all joining together today to kick off what I’ve officially proclaimed as a “Summer of Safety” in the City of Dallas.
Through this campaign, we’re highlighting and promoting our city’s summer programming that’s already available to our kids.
I’m excited to use the bully pulpit of this office to help our efforts because we clearly have a need to push out this information more extensively.
We know the stakes. Our police department arrests hundreds of minors for violent offenses every year in Dallas. The more kids we keep busy and out of trouble, the safer we can all be this summer.
In my office, we’ve partnered to create Dallas Works, my summer jobs program that helps hundreds of young people in our city learn new skills and earn some extra money during the summer.
We’ve also partnered with the Dallas Public Library on SMART Summer with Mayor Johnson, my summer reading program that gets thousands of kids reading, learning, and winning prizes.
And this week, I joined the Park and Recreation Department to announce the second year of the Teen All-Access Pass, a program that gives free admission to fantastic venues across the city, such as amusement parks, museums, and nature centers.
I’m thrilled to be joined by our police chief, our Park Board President, our library director, and Dallas ISD Trustee Maxie Johnson to talk about what we’re doing today. You’ll hear from them in just a moment.
And when you do, I encourage everyone listening to take note of what we have to offer, to get your kids involved this summer, and to help keep your community safe.
This is more than an awareness effort. It’s a call to action. If you don’t have kids, you can help by volunteering this summer, by joining or starting a crime watch group, and simply by spreading the word. And if you do have kids, talk to them. Check on them. Make it your business to know where they are and what they’re up to.
As critical as our law enforcement efforts are, we must work together to make our city safer. Because we must have each other’s backs.
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