Office of Speaker Dennis M. O’Brien

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

139 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CONTACT:  Bill Patton

                                                                                                                       717-787-4610

Speaker announces Symposium on Crime and Violence

HARRISBURG, Feb. 26 – House Speaker Dennis O’Brien is making plans for a full-day Symposium on Crime and Violence on March 26 attended by legislators, state and local officials, and outside experts united in the common goal of reducing the human toll of violence.

“We intend to continue a multifaceted discussion aimed at making all of Pennsylvania’s communities safer and healthier,” O’Brien said. “This includes legislators, policymakers, educators, anti-violence activists, crime victims, police and district attorneys, judges, prison staff, parole agents, drug and alcohol treatment specialists and human service providers.

“Too often, debate in Harrisburg and other places has disintegrated into entrenched positions and an unwillingness to seek common ground. One of the symposium’s goals is to promote real-world solutions that can gain acceptance in communities across Pennsylvania,” he said.

From August to January, the Speaker hosted six meetings of work groups in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, to examine the root causes of crime and suggest preventive measures. House members were invited to all the meetings and more than two dozen took part.

The work groups examined the criminal justice system; drug, alcohol and behavioral health services; mental health programs; community outreach; and educational and economic factors that contribute to crime. More than 150 experts in those fields participated in the work group discussions.

The symposium in Harrisburg will report the findings of the previous work group meetings and provide a structure and process to make recommendations for change. Many of the experts who contributed ideas to the work groups will attend.

O’Brien decided to organize this series of meetings after a remarkable open discussion about crime, gun violence and related issues that took place among members in the House of Representatives.

“This all began during a House session in late June when members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus made eloquent statements about the crisis of violence in the state’s cities,” O’Brien said. “What moved me was that many other House members rose to speak, some representing urban districts, others representing highly rural areas. Not everybody agreed on the approach to take, but all the speakers treated each other with respect and a desire to find answers.

“At the end of that discussion, everyone had a deeper understanding of opposing viewpoints. That encouraged us to keep the dialogue going and to focus it on certain areas in a search for consensus,” O’Brien said.

SYMPOSIUM DETAILS

The Speaker’s Symposium on Crime and Violence will take place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Harrisburg throughout the morning and afternoon on March 26. The symposium will comprise two plenary sessions and five panel discussion groups addressing themes that emerged from the previous work group meetings.

On the evening of March 25, a pre-event reception will take place in the State Capitol from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

For more information, contact the Speaker’s Office at the Capitol at 717-787-4610.

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