Crime and Violence increase-Cuts in Policing Contributory Grand Jury Concludes

Within the last two Months two Grand Jury Reports have been released both dealing with public safety agency, the police departments, and Fire Department of the City of Stockton.



The San Joaquin County 2010-2011 Civil Grand Jury today
released its informational report investigating budgetary
impacts on the administration of justice in San Joaquin County.


“San Joaquin County public jurisdictions have been under increasing budget management pressure to secure sufficient resources to deliver an acceptable level of service. The need to continue to reduce budgets, personnel, and services over the past several years threatens the ability to ensure public safety in the present fiscal climate.”

 Findings by the Grand Jury were a little to late, nonetheless it was nice to see someone take notice. What the report does is in my opinion shows the Citizens that it is not the  police that are the reason for the steady 300% persistent crime rate on both the State and National Levels (Grand Jury Report:Budgetary Impacts of the Administration Justice, 2011). The one issue that the Grand Jury does not discuss is the impact on issues of Officer Safety, which should have been discussed. Less Police Officers, does not simply mean less safety for the public, but also means Officers are at a greater risk of harm, because help is limited because of having less resources, and if units are available they may be coming from other part of the City.

  The report does a great job in providing analytical data, and Statistics for all of the law enforcement agencies in the County, showing and detailing how budget cuts have impacted each department singularly.  I will be discussing the issues that the grand jury concluded just for the City of Stockton.


The Grand Jury Concludes the following impacts have directly been a contributory factor in the increase in crime, and the murder rate; In the first six months of 2010, the murder rate increased 244% compared to the the same time period in 2009.  The City over  the last two years has cut the police departments budget by $22,000,000, with the potential for 2011/2012 another $13,000,000, the sworn peace officers on the force from a high of 441, to currently 342, a difference of 99 less police officers available to the City.

In a report conducted by Dr. Braga several key recommendations were outlined to assist the Police Department with effectively combating the violence:

• Increasing the staffing of the police force to be comparable to the national average, 550 police officers would be the number to meet this recommendation.

• Until the Police force could meet the recommendation, Dr. Baraga recommended a hot spot policing at orginal levels.

• Contiue to use community outreach, respond to hot spot areas with increased police presence as a temporary means to deal with an increase of violence within in certain geographic area. Also the latter outcome would be prevention.

• Expand the Gang Suppresion Unit, deploy more officers to the combat, gather intelligence, and use preventative techniques such has higher presence of police in known gang areas, proactive prevention and intervention to prevent gang violence.

The are just some of the recommendations made by Dr. Baraga, which none of the recommendations were possible because of the budget crisis. Had any of the recommendations been possibly implemented, it would be reasonable to assume that some of the violence from Gangs could have been prevented, and the deaths mitigated. I view gang violence as a preventable, thus through education, prevention, and if needed incarceration, violence caused from the over 2700 active gang members in the City, could be reduced.

The buget cuts to the Police Department has caused the elimination of the following:

1. Gang and Drug Units 
2. Community Policing Officers
3. School Resource Officers
4. Downtown Bike Patrol
5. Field Training Officers
6. Background Investigations
7. Camera Monitoring Program

 The elimination of these programs so that the patrol division could be maintained and sustained with officers to patrol the streets.  The elimination of all these programs have removed a very vital and integral tool from the police department; Prevention. Preventaive policing, or "community policing". The concept definition,

"Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to pro actively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime. " (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Orientated Policing Services, 2009)

What this report also does, is show what happens when cuts to public safety happen in a City, where crime is already an issue. The department already being understaffed, is subjected to further cuts, that undermine the ability of the Police department to efficiently, effectively, and safely protect & serve, is the outcome of what has happened. Statistics can be a great analytical tool, and can be used to create probable outcomes, giving an idea of what may occur, or establish and acceptable rate of increase in certain area of services; No information of probability or statistical information is able to for tell the true outcome of such a reduction in protection, and removal of vital policing tools, will have upon a City, already with a systemic problem of violence, drugs, poverty.


What the report does not address is how the decisions of the City Council further exacerbated the financial crisis, through wasteful spending, improper use of funds, and recovery, and litigation cost owed by the City, because of the incompetence and negligent decision of the City Government.  Some financial cuts were inevitably going to have to occur, but the point is the extreme if not perverse has occurred, because the cuts have been so detrimental to safety, and in less than two years the cuts in policing already having a cadre of victims, and severely impacting many goals, and abilities to allow the City to get on the path to recovery. Furthermore, the wastefulness of the spending is not something that has been a harmless error, to the contrary all the decision to cut public safety, should not be simply attributed to the Economic Conditions of the State, but should also be attributed to the wasteful and bad decisions made by an incompetent City Government.


I feel very strongly that, even though the economic downturn was factor for every City financially, our City Leaders have made several decisions that left us in a far fiscally and vulnerable depleted situation. This has only worsened, and exacerbated this disaster. The City of Stockton, the City government has responsibility, and culpability, and the decisions they have made,  are a direct reason as to why this grand jury report was necessary. Their mismanagement and wasteful spending, has gambled with public safety, and already the consequences are seen on the news daily.

"According to Stockton Fire Facts, the City after making all the cuts to public safety has earmarked 48 million on rebuilding City Hall, paid 33 million Howard Jarvis Taxpayers in a settlement for misuse of water utility fees, 22 million put into the Downtown Marina Project, with a 700,000 annual overhead cost, and according to the site there is more examples of mismanagement of funds by our wreck less City Council. The most recent example the City's inability to manage our money, for around fours months have " just voted to spend $20,000 a month to hire an outside firm", to operate as the CFO until a replacement can be found.(The Real City of Stockton, 2010)

If for example, the city had not illegally used funds in the construction  of the Stockton Events Center, then the $33 million could be used for City Services, being able to sustain services which are vital with the appropriate staffing.  This just one example of the absolute incompetence of the City Council, they should have never spent money on anything until they were giving legal advice by counsel to ensure they were not violating any law, but apparently this was not something that fell within the scope of their common sense, or the City Attorney themselves was incompetent and gave improper legal advice, either way it was their choice, which lead to "$33 Million settlement with Howard Jarivs Taxpayers Association due to the City illegally using Water Utility fees to fund the construction of the Stockton Events Center."

Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how the City decides to deal with the Fire Department, in July, if they will make drastic cuts, to close the deficit at the publics detriment. The coming decisions about cuts in the Fire Department, again some cuts are necessary, however it they follow through with the cuts that have been proposed with the information now; which is the cuts to public safety have in less than two years been found to be a contributory to the cuts themselves. I translate this in plain language: Cuts to the Police Department has lead to no proactive policing, and has caused a drastic increase in violence in death, only two years after making cuts.  The cuts have not only lead to higher wait times for police services, but has caused officers not being able to respond to higher level call classifications, in an acceptable response time, meaning that a call in progress, will continue without the possiblility of intervention because all units in the City are tied up on calls.


The first part of June 2011, there was an estimated 4 or more murders in the City Jurisdiction, a couple of them within the same day, each of these incidents depleted the resources of the City, leaving the safety of the city to a few officers, and hope that something else would not happen. Each time hope, prevailed and the City was able to address the calls, and needs, but only barely and with luck.


 History can not be changed, so this period in this  City's history will show that the economy was not the only issue in the City of Stockton that lead to the conditions today, but will show the incompetent choices a City Council, and the publics failure to hold them accountable for their negligent actions. The only good that will come from this portion of our history, will be that we will be able to refelect upon and use it as guide as to what can happen when a government places the interst of the police, fire, and the public secondary to business interest, builing stadiums, marinas, and other ventures, in a time when such projects are not sustainable or a nessessity.

 

Sources

  County Grand Jury, SJ. (2011, June 14). 2010-2011 grand jury releases report on budgetary impacts on the administration of justice in san joaquin county. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/5wut8uo 

Stockton Fire Facts, . (2010). City of wasteful. Retrieved from http://www.stocktonfirefacts.com/?page_id=33

 U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Orientated Policing Services. (2009). Community policing defined (e030917193). Washington, DC: Retrieved from http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/Publications/e030917193-CP-Defined.pdf




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