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Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert speaks at Press Club

Mayor Jean Stothert spoke at the Omaha Press Club during a special noon forum program earlier this month.

Stothert’s comments focused in part on the progress of the city over the last two years.  She said public safety is her primary responsibility as mayor.

Keeping people safe, though, is not just about fire and police. Stothert says it’s also about keeping the streets in good condition by ensuring potholes are filled and streetlights are working. 

She said crime is an issue that’s important to all citizens.

"In 2014 the number of homicides was 32 and the year before it was 42.  That’s still 32 too many but it’s a 25% decrease from the year before.  And there are a lot of reasons that has happened.  And one thing is we are expanding the number of police officers that we have. We now have a gang specialist in North and South Omaha.  So we are doing a lot of things and a lot of strategies to make sure those numbers continue to go down.”

Stothert said in a city of this size, it will be impossible to get rid of all violent crime, so making strides every year to make sure it trends downward is important. 

She commended the Omaha Police Department’s efforts to do so.