Inspired by Black Lives Matter, Oakland officials voted to defund their police. But with homicides now spiking, second thoughts are in the air

[Victoria33]

Inspired by Black Lives Matter, Oakland officials voted to defund their police. But with homicides now spiking, second thoughts are in the air.​

Seems minority neighborhoods most threatened by police also want better and more consistent policing
DAVE URBANSKI

Oakland’s city council in July unanimously voted to form a task force to figure out a way to reduce the police department budget by 50% over the next two years.

The move was a response to “the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported, adding that a 17-member Reimagining Public Safety Task Force was created to get things going.

But the paper said the desire to defund the police and the need for police butted right up against each other.

See more at: Inspired by Black Lives Matter, Oakland officials voted to defund their police. But with homicides now spiking, second thoughts are in the air. - TheBlaze

 

[JonNC]

I continue to be amazed by the duplicity of these progressive elected officials. They hire these police officers! They are the ones who create the culture in these departments. And when their failed philosophy of governance is revealed, they double down by blaming their own employees, often falsely. Then they act to expose the people of color in their cities to the real criminals by reducing police presence.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

I read the Blaze article and I could not find any reference to who exactly is having second thoughts. The headline says “second thoughts are in the air” implying that some group of people are having second thoughts. Which people? How many? Any Oakland officials? It may be true what they say, but their “reporting” makes that very difficult to verify. I don’t doubt that the crime statistics cited are accurate. But the shift in opinion? Hard to tell.

 

[jeannetherese]

You may find this article of interest.
https://www.policeforum.org/trendingoct17
From the article:
"Oakland, CA: First, I spoke with Susan Manheimer, who was named Interim Chief in Oakland, CA last April. Oakland has seen a sharp uptick in homicides this year, which coincided with the onset of the COVID pandemic. Oakland had 76 homicides in 2017, and 75 in 2018, but in just the first nine months of 2020, 79 homicides.

Susan told me that it’s disheartening, because Oakland had been making great progress in recent years, with a homicide rate that was declining every year since 2012, when the city had 131 murders. She attributed the increase this year to several factors related to COVID, including the release of jail and prison inmates, and the recent unwillingness of the court system to incarcerate persons arrested for illegal gun possession, even if they have multiple prior crimes.

“Even though violent crime is going up, Oakland’s city council unanimously voted to create a task force charged with writing a plan for “reimagining” the police department and cutting the police budget by 50% over the next two years.”

 

[JonNC]

She attributed the increase this year to several factors related to COVID, including the release of jail and prison inmates, and the recent unwillingness of the court system to incarcerate persons arrested for illegal gun possession, even if they have multiple prior crimes.

This is stunning! California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but criminal gun use isn’t enforced? The apparent President Elect has stated he plans to impose new gun laws on the law abiding. Meanwhile, his own party lets criminal gun possession go unenforced.

As cities contemplate proposals to defund police departments and cut personnel, it is important for police chiefs to challenge their local officials about the very real and human costs of not investing in the fight against crime – especially as homicides and shootings are spiking.
Good cops make a difference. And often it’s the difference between life and death.

Ask former Seattle police chief Carmen Best how that worked for her.