You’ve heard me say it before - the success of our communities, states, and country all come back down to the balance between saving lives and livelihoods. And now, the folks that had been adamant about defunding, reimagining or just completely dismantling the police are retreating from that position... sort of.
In California, the San Jose City Council approved spending a portion of their COVID-19 pandemic federal funds in an effort to combat smash-and-grab robberies in the Bay Area.
The city council unanimously voted to allocate 250,000 toward license plate readers in that effort. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo cited incidents across the state and downtown San Jose as a reason for the move. He wrote that LPRs would enable the San Jose police department to better deter crime and make arrests - but none of the data collected from the LPR would be shared with federal immigration authorities. Liccarado makes it very clear that he will not share that information with any respective law enforcement agencies that may have an interest in knowing where criminals are. I don't know about you, but I am worried about that!
The Los Angeles Police Department says it has made more than a dozen arrests after a series of flash-mob robberies across the city in recent weeks. Nearly $340,000 worth of merchandise was stolen in those crimes. Most of the perpetrators are out of jail because California's statewide no bail policy was aimed at reducing overcrowding at LA County jails during the coronavirus pandemic, instead of holding them accountable for their crimes. Now, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says the pandemic is easing and it’s time to make room in jails for criminals who commit violent acts… the zero bail policy for misdemeanors and lower level felonies ended last year, but they kept it in place in Los Angeles County because they're ‘different’ and now they're facing the music.
As I've said before, you want to affect change? You affect change by holding elected officials accountable. Los Angeles citizens said they had enough and that their neighborhoods are not safe. They wanted accountability, they wanted to go to the store without being carjacked, without being shot at and without being messed with. They wanted the policing they once had, and deserve given the taxes they pay.