Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's Commission Against Gun Violence, convened after the Santa Fe High School shooting, has released the first of two expected reports.
“There are 30 recommendations in total, divided under four categories – school safety, firearm safety and access, community safety and domestic violence and sexual assault,”Mayor Turner said Wednesday.
The commission recommends at least one officer at every Houston ISD school, as well as curriculum and resources to address violence tendencies. The mayor says his office also is working with Microsoft to create “smart schools” with enhanced security.
“The solution includes additional sensors, such as light indicators, emergency buttons and sound sensors, as well as a mobile application and web application to allow security personnel to communicate bidirectionally witih people in a crisis area.”
The report also focuses on an area of Southeast Houston hit hard by gun violence.
Mayor Turner calls it a broad-based approach for the entire community. “A large percentage of the homicides that have taken place in the city of Houston in the last nine months have been more domestic-related.
Chairwoman Haley Carter says some of the recommendations could be implemented immediately.
“The digital sandbox piece, there are many campuses in HISD that are already on it, so we need to push to get the rest of the campuses in HISD on it,” she says. “The National Night Out campaign, that really comes down to getting our community stakeholders to come together and continue the dialogue.”
The commission's next report will focus on legislative action, though Carter admits the Lt. Governor has said gun control will not be discussed next session.
“It is our responsibility to put the recommendations forth, and whether they get acted upon or not, I can sleep at night,” she says.
That second report is expected in November.