Promoting Safety

What are the current safety issues in Dayton?

Our Goal: 

To spread knowledge of current dangers in the city of Dayton and implement resources that will facilitate a safer community. Our solutions that we believe will help us to achieve this goal are decreasing drug use and addiction, increasing affordable housing options, and police reform.

Crime is a contextual effect on Dayton that influences citizens social outcomes, making it important that it is eliminated in Dayton to provide a better overall trajectory of life for community members. The history of redlining in Dayton has created a lasting negative impact on the safety of citizens as the neighborhoods deemed as risky in the past continue to face the repercussions of these past labels. 

Achieving Our Goal: 

Achievement of our goal will address the safety issues in Dayton and improve social outcomes for citizens by...

Our Solutions Target the Following Problems:

Homelessness

The Covid-19 Pandemic played a major role in the dramatic rise of the homeless population in Dayton, as after the pandemic, it was found that there was a 23% overall increase in amount of homeless people, a 15.4% increase of those in shelters and a 114% increase in the number of persons sleeping unsheltered.

These growing rates of homelessness contribute to the increasing rates of violent and property crimes in Dayton, which in turn, greatly impacts the safety of the community. This relates back to course concepts regarding collateral consequences because if the homeless are committing these crimes, then their conviction keeps them in a never ending cycle of homelessness as they will lack opportunities such as access to employment, business and occupational licensing, housing, education, etc. that allow them the social mobility that they need to rise out of poverty. In addition to this, we must keep in mind the safety of the homeless popualtion as well and propose solutions to get them out of their unsafe conditions and prevent people from getting in the situation of homelessness in the first place. Decreasing the homeless population will create a safer city by lowering crime rates and protecting both community members and the homeless.

Increase of Drug Use

Drug overdose deaths increased from 21.9 to 57.7 deaths per 100,000 from 2010 to 2016, with an increase of 35% just in one year between 2015 and 2016. Fentanyl and cocaine being the main drugs on the rise. The major highways near Dayton (Route 70 and Route 75) allow for easy illegal drug trade. 

The increasing crime rates are partially caused by the increase in drug use in Dayton. As those who use continue to use drugs they find themselves needing more money each time, they resort to crime to continue their addiction. This ties back to what we talked about in class, the incarceration rates of those who are in jail for drug offenses have skyrocketed since the 1980s, this has not helped limit drug use and has only negatively impacted those involved, as we know ticket and jail fees are expensive and can add up if not paid. If the drug use and addictions in Dayton are controlled this will decrease crime as well as make the city of Dayton a safer place to live. 



Police Interactions

Dayton Police have been the subject of a multitude of misconduct allegations whilst handling a diverse population. In 2020, officers arrested a man who was deaf and had cerebral palsy and forced him to be hospitalized for an evaluation because they believed he was high. The officers also left the man with a fractured wrist and permanent injuries. In 2021, two officers forcibly removed a paraplegic Black man from his car. It was alleged that the officers intentionally muted their body cameras’ audio whilst insulting and threatening the individual. In 2023, a Black woman was punched in the face while being arrested

Having one set of policy regulations to deal with a population of diverse people is ineffective and can cause more harm than good. 

This ties back to the class lesson on the criminal justice system. More specifically, the arrest and incarceration rates for Black Americans - Black men specifically - are disproportionately higher. These actions further racial disparities and racial under-caste in society. Furthermore, continuing legal discrimination. 

Solutions to these Occurring Issues:

To Decrease Drug Use/Addiction...

Implementing rehabilitation facilities that are affordable or free will allow more people to willingly go through the process. Right now the average cost for a rehabilitation facility is $575 per day. Most drug addicts do not have this kind of money and this price makes them shy away from this option. Also currently in the state of Ohio, you must go through rehabilitation voluntarily. Many addicts will not accept or admit that they are addicted so implementing a law that allows family to recommend someone to rehabilitation would increase the chances of an individual going. 

Increasing Affordable Housing Options

One of the main reasons why people in Dayton are facing homelessness is the lack of affordable housing due to the skyrocketing costs of rent post-pandemic. A lot of the homeless who live in shelters have housing subsidies, but have no place to rent from because of the growing price of units and shortage of homes. The city of Dayton needs to allocate their funds towards building more affordable housing units and incentivize landlords to open up their rental options to low-income renters and subsidie users to combat this issue. Doing so would allow for more homeless individuals to escape this cycle of homelessness by moving out of shelters and off of the street and into homes, which would lower crime rates and in turn, protect the safety of the Dayton community.

Police Reform

There have been a lot of arguments surrounding the training of police officers in recent years. While police training has become more intensive, there are still many things that can be done to facilitate improvement. Implementing additional training for officers during their time at the academy and alternative procedures can help alleviate the rates of unethical incidents occurring. This training would include, but not be limited to, interacting with people who have disabilities. To be more specific on this topic, there should be more training on how to navigate physical interactions with disabled individuals, i.e. making arrests. When it comes to policy change within departments there need to be explicit guidelines on what maneuvers are appropriate in given circumstances. 

St. Vincent de Paul

St. Vincent de Paul is one of Dayton's local homeless shelters. They provide emergency shelter, transitional and permanent supportive housing, food, clothing, and household items as well as guidance to leading a self-sustaining life. This organization is already working toward the safety of Dayton, providing a safe space for those in need of shelter, food, and other basic needs. This organization helps keep the homeless off the streets and provides them with an opportunity to gain the resources and shelter that they need to get back on their feet. Between their two shelters, they provide support to over 500 people a day. 


Contact Information:

Website: https://stvincentdayton.org

Address:

St. Vincent de Paul Society, Dayton

124 West Apple St.

Dayton, OH 45402

Phone Number: 937-222-5555

Email: info@stvincentdayton.org

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