Today I was asked by citizens what I would do as Mayor to address the recent gunshots and fireworks heard around the City. These were my replys. #ANEWTARRANT

We have to add more officers to the force to increase the presence of our police in our neighborhoods. It’s unfair to us as citizens and the police for the City to under staff our police department and expect them to perform at maximum capacity. One of the first things that I would do as Mayor would be to order that we improve our street lighting. Studies have shown that improved street lighting decreases crime significantly. Increased lighting deters a lot of petty crime like car break-ins and property theft. Criminals don’t like working in well lit areas.

I’m fairly certain that Tarrant, like every other municipality, has an ordinance that prohibits fireworks. The short answer to your question would be to enforce this ordinance or if we don’t have one to create one. The bigger issue that I see is how we can improve public safety in Tarrant. I’ve spoken with several of our officers and they all agree that we need more boots on the ground. We need to add another officer to each shift so they have the manpower to handle less serious matters like kids shooting firecrackers on a Tuesday night. I also think we should have a designated person at the police department to monitor all social media so that we can be proactive rather than reactive in fighting crime. People post all sorts of things on social media and we should use this information to stop crime before it happens. Lastly, I think the City needs to do a better job of providing our kids an alternative to crime. We have to start maintaining our parks better. I don’t allow my kids to go anywhere where there is unkempt grass, broken equipment and poor lighting. We also need to bring back intramural sports. Sports teaches discipline, responsibility and leadership and Tarrant could use a lot more of this.