We are deeply disturbed by the enforcement tactics used the weekend following "314 Day,” where 23 of our region’s children were zip-tied, detained, and taken to an undisclosed location by SLMPD.

On Friday, March 20th, the city implemented a 10 PM curfew downtown for anyone 17 and under, with virtually no grace period, and attempts to build awareness were limited to traditional media before enforcement began. While SLMPD has branded this operation a "success," the events were actually a public failure of communication and care. Of the 23 children detained, there were no reports of gun possession or activity that did physical harm to others. 

It is telling that the city has spent time celebrating their reactive arrest numbers instead of proactively ensuring our families have ongoing access to the safe, supportive environments that prioritize a child’s dignity over their detention. At WEPOWER, we believe true public safety is not found in the back of a police van. It is found in classrooms, community centers, child care programs, and in supportive systems we build before a child ever reaches age 11.

Our city must take responsibility for the choice to NOT invest in our children, early and often, and instead continuously and reactively choose to treat our children as criminals.

So much of what is happening in our city and beyond is a direct result of how we treat our children. Until we do right by them, our city will continue to struggle, from downtown to the northside.

“Society is the direct consequence of how we treat our children.”

The best investment we can make goes beyond downtown buildings and our fierce protection of the idea of more downtown buildings as the silver bullet, at the risk of our children’s humanity and worth. When we care for our children, we will see the greatest return for downtown, for our economy, our city, and most importantly, for children themselves – and their future.

The recent events reinforce our belief.

Instead of pouring resources into temporary, punitive efforts, we call on our city’s leaders to double down on what works, especially and including affordable child care. And, if the moral call to do what is right isn’t enough, there’s an extreme amount of research on the case for investing in our children early instead of treating them as criminals later on.