Written by William Hekman
For the last year, Democrats and leftists have been pushing the “Defund the Police” movement, which in turn led to many police officers and law enforcement officials leaving. Coupled with the push for crime and bail reform, California has seen a wave a crime over the last year, everything from theft, drugs, and murders. But now, with 2022 on the horizon, some Democrats are now pleading for more help in cleaning up their cities from crime.
In crime-riddled San Francisco, Mayor London Breed announced a proposal to increase overtime funding for San Francisco police officers to crack down on drug dealers and users in the Tenderloin neighborhood. The Tenderloin has become riddled with drug users and dealers in recent years. Breed said, “It is time that the reign of criminals who are destroying our city … come to an end. And it comes to an end when we take the steps to be more aggressive with law enforcement … and less tolerant of all the bulls—t that has destroyed our city.” This comes during a time when San Francisco D.A Chesa Boudin is facing a recall election for his failure to prosecute certain crimes and allowing criminals out. In neighboring Oakland, Mayor Libby Schaaf has asked Gov. Newsom to put license plate readers on highways in Oakland to catch criminals. Schaaf said, “The need for a system that can … alert law enforcement to vehicles associated with violent crime, in real time, has never been more apparent.” Oakland has seen some troubling crime statistics recently. The Oakland Police are currently investigating the 131st homicide of the year, the highest total in a decade. Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin from Thousand Oaks introduced legislation that would reauthorize district attorneys to prosecute organized retail crimes, or smash-and-grabs, even those that cross county lines. Irwin said, “ I will not wait out this holiday season and let these organized groups continue to believe they can prey on California shoppers and retailers with no repercussions.”
Hopefully a call from local leaders will force some of the radical district attorneys like George Gascon and Chesa Boudin to actually change their prosecution policy. One can only hope that these measures actually do some good and clean up the streets of California cities.
Photo Cred: AP Photo/Eric Risberg
