The woke mayor of Berkeley, California, who cut $10 million from the liberal bastion’s police budget in 2020, has suddenly changed his tune and is now trying to lead the charge against an alarming crime spike.
“In Berkeley, my colleagues and I took $9,251,458 out of the Berkeley Police Department, or 12% of the department’s annual operating budget,” Jesse Arreguín wrote in a July 2020 San Francisco Chronicle column.
The cuts come amid heightened anti-police sentiment across the United States following the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement.
“This incident awakened America’s collective consciousness to the systemic racism that pervades our society, from education and housing to employment and, of course, policing,” he wrote at the time. .
But in the face of rising crime and growing public anger, Mr. Arreguin has positioned himself as an active supporter of law and order.
Arreguín held a press conference this week to announce the creation of a regional task force to combat growing illegal activity in surrounding East Bay cities.
“We must work together across city and county boundaries to strengthen security across the East Bay,” Arreguín said in a prepared statement. According to the Berkeley Scanner.
“This partnership will enable greater coordination and regional strategies to prevent and deter crime and hold these individuals accountable.”
Officials praised Arreguín’s efforts and argued that greater coordination among local agencies could help deter illegal activity.
But some local merchants scoffed at the change in attitude, noting that Berkeley’s police presence has been significantly reduced in recent years, which has led to a predictable spike in crime.
“It’s a little late, isn’t it?” said a downtown Berkeley merchant. “You beat up the cops, you cut funding, and now you want to deal with it? It’s funny. This area wasn’t like this five years ago. Business owners went through it.”
Entire blocks of once-bustling downtown areas have been shut down, dominated by “For Lease” signs and largely ignored.
“You see everything every day,” said the merchant. “Homelessness, violence, people living on the streets. It’s the norm now.”
Just last week, an unconscious man fired random gunshots into the air just outside a classical music performance on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Video showed frightened students running inside campus buildings as gunshots rang out.
The city’s only Apple Store, located on chic Fourth Avenue, was routinely raided by thieves in broad daylight.
According to the newspaper, scammers have attacked the site seven times this year alone.
High-profile crimes such as carjackings, sexual assaults, and armed robberies also plague UC Berkeley and the surrounding area.
parent group They have given up seeking relief through official channels and are privately raising funds to establish private security forces.
according to the is a scanner The Berkeley Police Department had about 130 active officers in September, down 35% from its all-time high of 200.
While funding has influenced recruitment, applications to the sector have also declined in recent years, making it increasingly difficult to fill vacancies.
Arreguín, who was first elected mayor in 2016, plans to run for the California Senate.
