Milwaukee releases "Blueprint for Peace" as effort to prevent crime

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee city leaders are taking a different approach to preventing crime by treating it as a public health issue. 

It's all outlined in a new plan that was introduced on Friday. The new 100-page strategy is called "Blueprint for Peace" and it's a community-driven agenda.

It's spearheaded by the Milwaukee Health Department's Office of Violence Prevention. The 10-year plan was created after a crime spike in 2015 and Mayor Tom Barrett called for a public health approach to ending violence.

After speaking with and surveying thousands of people in the city, leaders believe that they've come up with a comprehensive plan.

It will target 10 neighborhoods in Milwaukee with a high crime rate. Programs and specific strategies will be implemented in each neighborhood and then the progress will be tracked over time.

The leaders behind the plan say they're counting on the community to help make this happen.

"This has to be owned by our community, if we don't own this, if we don't make this part of our DNA, part of our fabric as a community, it's not going to succeed. But, I believe we can do this," Mayor Tom Barrett.

"Kids being alive is a low bar, it's a low standard, it's a human right to live," said Reggie Moore, Director of the Office of Violence Prevention.

Part of the plan focuses on young people and making sure they have access to job programs and after-school opportunities.