McHale Releases Comprehensive Public Safety Plan

I am not part of any political machine and unlike the politicians who are unwilling
to admit or attack the real causes of our public safety problems, I will.
READING, PA Jim McHale, candidate for Mayor of Reading, today released a
comprehensive plan to make the city safer not just by cracking down on criminals, but also by
addressing many of the root causes of crime.
For too long, the political machine in Reading and its candidates have paid lip service to public
safety but delivered no real results, said McHale citing statistics that show how badly crime is
affecting city residents. I am not part of any political machine, and unlike the politicians who
are unwilling to admit or attack the real causes of our public safety problems, I will.
Statistics show that 87% of cities in the United States are safer than Reading. One in thirty-one
residents of Reading will become a victim of property crimes. One in one hundred fourteen
residents will become a victim of violent crimes.
Parents should be able to let their kids walk to school and know they are safe, but right now
they dont, McHale said. Reading is too dangerous today, but things can change. Under my
leadership your new government will work to make streets safe again.
McHales plan focuses on four basic areas: partnership policing, common sense gun crime
measures, positive youth programs, and police staffing levels.
The goal of partnership policing is to make sure our citizens see our police as a partner in their
own efforts to keep their local neighborhoods safe. To help build that trust, McHale will:
1. Create a community partnership taskforce consisting of leaders from each
neighborhood in the city, the police department, and Administration officials.
2. Implement the Volunteers In Police (VIP) program that will encourage every
Reading police officer to volunteer eight hours a month to public service in the
community they patrol.
3. Create a police safety, training and accountability council to design a training
program to improve officer readiness; recommend improvements in skills
and equipment to make police more successful in their mission; and, advise on how
best to hold any bad officers accountable for their behavior.
Our police have tough but important jobs and we cannot put them on the streets unprepared for
the worst possible scenario. These initiatives will usher in a stronger police force, safer
neighborhoods and more community trust, McHale stated.

Eliminating gun crime is never going to be as easy as the slogans that the politicians spout year
after year, because those willing to use a gun to break the law will break the law to get a gun,
McHale said. But I am will put for the effort to make sure that we make progress and Reading
is safer. McHales plan focuses on three areas:
1. Teaming with county and state prosecutors to require full sentencing for any
individuals who commit a crime with a gun, or who illegally carry a firearm.
McHale will also petition the US Department of Justice to have gun crimes prosecuted
under the more strict federal statutes.
2. Developing a quarterly gun-take back program to encourage the removal of illegal,
unwanted, or unused guns from our city.
3. Lobbying state legislators to pass new laws that address straw purchases of firearms.
Studies show that most crimes committed by youths happen between 3pm and 9pm times that
are often unsupervised and unstructured, McHale explained. Common sense dictates that to
help prevent these crimes from happening and stop another youth from entering the criminal
just system, we need to provide positive opportunities for our kids. His plan here also focuses
on three areas:
1. Invest more resources into youth development and after-school programs,
especially in neighborhoods with the greatest percentage of single parents who may
not be available for supervision.
2. Create a police-school partnership to facilitate positive relationship building
between police officers and children.
3. Work with the school district and state to encourage volunteerism in, and provide
resources for, alternative after-school education programs.
Finally, McHales plan focuses on police staffing levels and working to put more police on the
streets. He said he will accomplish this by re-allocating city resources to core city services, with
policing being among the very top core services. McHale believes regional partners also have a
role to play. Regional partners, such as the County Sheriff, can assist in protecting our
community.
Technology like cameras is nice, but it can never replace a real person on the street working in
cooperation with our residents when it comes to fighting crime, McHale said. By prioritizing
our budget and implementing the other changes I have outlined, we can and will make Reading
safer. And that is better for our citizens, and for our economy as a safer Reading will help attract
job creators.
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