County launches gun violence prevention effort

Westchester County Executive George Latimer was joined by County Legislator Shanae Williams of Yonkers and others including Legislators Terry Clements and James Nolan in announcing creation of the Westchester County Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce. The task force, which will operate within the county executive’s office, is aimed at unifying efforts across the county to combat gun violence.

Latimer signed a document to officially create the task force, which will have 21 members, some appointed by the Board of Legislators and others appointed by Latimer. The members will be volunteers who have various backgrounds.

Legislator Williams, at left, and Latimer.

“There have been efforts in lots of communities individually but now we want to see if we can pull them together in a cohesive effort to identify best practices and then have those best practices apply in Yonkers, in Mount Vernon, in New Rochelle, in Peekskill and for that matter in Bronxville, Scarsdale, Larchmont, Rye Brook, all of the communities of Westchester County,” Latimer said. “This is not about showtime. The result will be something that makes peoples’ lives better.”

Key responsibilities of the task force will be:

  • Change the social conditions and address the influences that lead young people to resort to gun violence;
  • Foster collaboration across all agencies and levels of government, including county, town, village, city and law enforcement agencies;
  • Facilitate collaboration between nonprofit and for-profit businesses already engaged in this work;
  • Engage the community in meaningful dialogue, including victims and perpetrators of gun violence;
  • Develop prevention and intervention strategies tailored to eliminate gun violence;
  • Advocate for the necessary resources to support these efforts.

Latimer said, “Gun violence is not a major problem in Westchester County, but one death or injury due to gun violence is one too many and we are focused on getting to the root of the problem.”

Williams said, “Yonkers is a relatively safe city for its size, but gun violence is still an issue. A few years ago, there was a shooting in front of my building at Getty Square. This incident made me consider ways to address the problem holistically in my community.”