POR 2026-137 · Agenda item attachment · Aug 3 2026

POR 2026-137 FIRST IN COUNCIL July 23, 2026 City of Cambridge COUNCILLOR SOBRINHO-WHEELER MAYOR SIDDIQUI COUNCILLOR NOLAN WHEREAS: In 2023, the City of Cambridge established the Community Safety Department, which includes the Community Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) team for emergency crisis response, case management supports, and violence prevention efforts; and WHEREAS: Since that time, the Community Safety Department has become a critical part of the City’s public safety resources and response, alongside the Cambridge Police Department, the Emergency Communications Department, the Multi-Service Center, the Department of Human Services Programs, and other City departments.; and WHEREAS: Violence interrupters and violence prevention programs such as those used by Community Safety Department have been deployed as one method to reduce gun violence in cities across the country, and their effectiveness has been noted consistently in reducing gun violence; and WHEREAS: The Community Safety Department’s violence prevention work has included partnering with community organizations including Cambridge HEART, Community Conversations: Sister to Sister, My Brother’s Keeper, InnerCity Weightlifting, and On the Rise based in Cambridge on violence prevention services; and WHEREAS: The Community Safety Department’s CARE team was launched in 2024 and provides crisis intervention and ongoing case management services and had responded to more than 1,200 crisis calls by the end of 2025; and WHEREAS: While the Community Safety Department’s CARE team is eligible to respond to a range of 911 calls for crisis response and ongoing case management, recent reporting highlighted that the team is eligible to respond to more than twice as many 911 calls as it is currently being dispatched to; and WHEREAS: While the Community Safety Department’s CARE team has expanded their hours since launching in 2024, the team is currently staffed only for Monday to Friday from 7am to 7pm, which is less than half of all hours, and the City has not yet outlined a goal timeline for the team to expand beyond these staffing levels or for 24/7 crisis response; and WHEREAS: In February 2026, the City submitted a violence prevention recommendations

report to the Council outlining the following recommendations: 1. That the Community Safety Department work with Cambridge-based organizations to expand coverage, services, and evaluation of effectiveness; 2. That the Community Safety Department establish a case management service for individuals most likely to be involved in gun violence; 3. That the City revise the RFP process currently used to partner with organizations on violence prevention; and 4. That the City hire an Assistant Director of Violence Prevention to oversee violence prevention programming, which the City has since done; now therefore be it ORDERED: That the City Manager be and is hereby requested to report on progress on the February 2026 report's recommendations, and plans for ensuring appropriate levels of support and staffing for the Community Safety Department, including continued expansion of CSD’s violence prevention program, the number and types of calls handled by the CARE team, and the timeline for more comprehensive staffing for the CARE team emergency response program; and be it further ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council in a timely manner. A true copy; ATTEST:- Paula M. Crane, Interim City Clerk

City of Cambridge That the City Manager is hereby requested to report on progress of the February 2026 report's recommendations, and plans for ensuring appropriate levels of support and staffing for the Community Safety Department, including continued expansion of CSD’s violence prevention program, the number and types of calls handled by the CARE team, and the timeline for more comprehensive staffing for the CARE team emergency response program and is requested to report back to the City Council in a timely manner.