AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- With the City of Austin on a record pace for homicides in 2021, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza is working to implement a strategy he hopes will reduce the surge of gun violence.
Garza was joined by a number of city, county, and community leaders Tuesday morning as he unveiled the plan.
So far this year, Austin and Travis County have had 82 homicides. That compares with a total of 43 for all of 2017.
The four-part plan calls for the use of both traditional and innovative prosecution strategies for sentencing people charged with gun crimes; working with community members to prevent gun violence by creating, supporting, and implementing intervention and prevention programs; taking guns out of the hands of those at high risk for committing an act of gun violence in an intimate partner relationship; and supporting programming to help survivors and families of the victims of gun violence.
“Our office will continue to prosecute violent gun crimes and homicides; however, we cannot stop the spread of violence alone,” said Garza. “We need a cohesive approach that is focused on preventing violence before it happens, and then we need to ensure that victims of gun violence have the services and support they need to safely recover from the trauma they have endured.”
High profile national groups, such as Moms Demand Action, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and the Alliance for Safety and Justice have signed on to support the strategy. Local Austin groups such as the Austin Justice Coalition, the Austin Office of Violence Prevention, and the Austin EMS Association have also signed on to support the program.
“The loss of life our community has had over the last few years is heartbreaking. As someone who has been directly impacted by gun violence, I know all too well that we have to both prevent the violence before it happens, and once it has happened we must provide the necessary support and services to heal the trauma,” said Clarence Watson, Co-Chapter Coordinator of the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice Austin Chapter. “We are not in a situation that we can only arrest our way out of, and I am optimistic that the community has come together to work on an effective strategy.”