Will Berkeley Fund Care or Cops?
“The overwhelming message is that we do need to defund the police and we need to reinvest money from our police department budget into other community priorities, including expanding mental health, outreach and treatment, services for our homeless, housing and services that specifically address the needs of our Black and brown communities.” — Jesse Arreguin, July, 2020
These are powerful, inspiring words. Last summer, when the streets of Berkeley were overflowing with outcries to defund the Berkeley Police Department (BPD), the Mayor and City Council promised a robust “Reimagining Public Safety” process, as well as a “Specialized Care Unit (SCU)” that would respond to non-criminal emergencies. Last July, Mayor Arreguin called his [Fiscal Year2021*] budget a “down-payment” on the city’s commitment to re-envision law enforcement.
On Tuesday May 25, the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, the City of Berkeley failed to live up to this promise. When they unveiled their initial FY2022 budget, the SCU received $0. In fact, the entire Public Safety Reimagining initiative was left undetermined, with no reserves set aside to fund it. The police budget did not go down; instead, the police budget went up to $77.8M.
To understand why this undermines the responsible governance of the City of Berkeley, we need to take a closer look at where this money is going.
Over 90% of the almost $78M police budget is for compensation. Sworn officers make $250,000 to over $500,000 per year, and there are currently 157 active officers. For over 15 years, BPD has claimed they need 181 officers, though they have not provided any metrics to justify this number. Over this same period, the crime rate in Berkeley has decreased significantly, and yet their optimum number of officers remains unchanged. An additional $6M, to account for the 23 open positions for sworn officers, is deferred to be used for Reimagining. However, these funds aren’t included in the BPD’s total of $78M. Where will these funds come from?
Thanks to the City Auditor’s recent audit of police calls for service, we know that only 0.7% of calls involve violent crime. In contrast, 17% of calls for police service — a low estimate by the City Auditor because of lack of data — involve a mental health crisis or homelessness. A year ago, in the midst of public outcry, the Mayor and City Council saw clearly the need to change the status quo. However, they have reneged on this promise with not only an increase in the police budget, but also a 22% decrease in the funding of community agencies.
This is unacceptable. We must hold them accountable to decrease the police budget by at least 17%, use $8.5M to fund the first year of an SCU pilot program and the rest for other community needs.
Last year saw the largest worldwide movement demanding racial justice in policing. Movements lead to change in policy and that is happening throughout the country and the Bay. Will Berkeley be on the right side of history? That depends on us. Your voice is needed!
- Make public comment at Budget & Finance Policy Committee and City Council meetings in June; email and call your council member.
- Join the CARE not cops Noise demonstration on Wednesdays at noon, City Hall — 2180 Milvia Street.
*Berkeley’s fiscal year begins on July 1.
This article was first published in the Berkeley Times on June 3, 2021.
