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Community Voices: St. Pete’s hard truth: We have a murder problem

Bobbie Shay Lee

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St. Peterburg is on pace to see a record number of murders this year. Following the home invasion and double murder of an 18 and 21-year-old on Sept. 17, 26 people have now been killed in the “Sunshine City.”  The record number of murders in one calendar year in St. Petersburg is 30, set in 2005.  Sadly, at this rate we will eclipse that number by Halloween.

Maress Scott, whose son was killed in 2019, has been distributing an anti-gun violence pledge in St. Petersburg which reads, “Instead of using a gun (or any other weapon), I will use my mind, my heart and my mouth to solve any issues.”

But Scott can’t do this alone. This needs to be a community effort. And this needs to be an issue our elected officials lead on.

It’s as if city officials are tone deaf to the innocent lives lost. 

What happened to the principle that our council members are the guardians of public safety in St. Peterburg? 

Let me be clear, our men and women in blue are doing the best they can, and this is not a political issue, this is a health and safety issue. We can no longer brush this issue under the rug. The arrogance in leadership that assumes we aren’t paying attention, or if we don’t talk about it then it doesn’t exist, is no longer an option.

Twenty-six men and women have been murdered this year. These are fathers, sisters, friends, co-workers whose deaths affect every neighborhood, every community and every resident of this city. Beyond the heartbreak of lives lost and families shattered, this is also an issue about the wellness of a community and feeling safe walking our streets and neighborhoods. The lawlessness of these crimes also seeps into surrounding cities like the sewage we dump. 

The burden of ensuring public safety falls on our elected officials. Their silence on the escalating systemic crime is deafening! The time has long come for us to finally shine a spotlight on this issue because if we don’t the tears will keep flowing, the heartache will persist, and the body count will continue to climb.

Bobbie Shay Lee is a candidate for St. Petersburg City Council.

 

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1 Comment

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    Corbin Supak

    September 23, 2021at9:11 pm

    ‘systemic crime’ – please elaborate. also, violent crime totals and rate per 1,000 have dropped more than half in last 20 years, per police stats. Sounds like you lack substance, candidate Lee.
    https://police.stpete.org/docs/ucrAnnualReportForPart1CrimeStatistics20002020.pdf

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