<\/p>\n
by Becky Johnson<\/p>\n
May 16, 2015<\/p>\n
Santa Cruz, CA.\u00a0 — As communities across the country fight against
\npolice oppression
\nand brutality, we galvanize in our resolve to reform police departments
\nso that they
\nare the servants of the people, protecting us from harm, and under the
\ncontrol of
\nthe City Manager and the City Council.<\/p>\n
Why is this necessary?<\/p>\n
Because when we entrust certain individuals to carry lethal force, with
\nthe power
\nto detain, cite, arrest, and later testify in court against us, we must be
\nsure they are
\nfollowing a code of conduct that is consistent with fair and ethical
\nbehavior.<\/p>\n
Different police departments go astray in different ways. In Ferguson, the
\nBlack majority
\nof the population were singled out for massive ticketing to fill the
\nCity’s coffers.<\/p>\n
In Oakland, a thuggish mentality won out that was so corrupt
\nfinancially, a State
\nAuditor had to take over control of the administration.<\/p>\n
In San Jose, Ca., police have an inordinately high rate of shooting
\nmental ill people.
\nCall a cop. Execute your family member.<\/p>\n
But what’s up with the SCPD?<\/p>\n
First, we have an unusually high rate of arrests per officer. It’s 11.1
\narrests per officer
\nper year. By comparison, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco, with,
\npresumably
\nlarger criminal populations, the average is 4 arrests per officer per year.<\/p>\n
We have 99 sworn police officers and a total of 135 paid employees.
\nThis in a City with a population of 62,000 with a ratio of one officer
\nper 697 residents.<\/p>\n
But wait! That population figure includes UCSC which also has its own
\npolice department.<\/p>\n
While crime rates are dropping, in some cases precipitously, our jails
\nare still
\noverflowing and our courts are jammed.\u00a0 In fact, the Board of
\nSupervisors recently
\napproved a $25 million jail EXPANSION in already, the most incarcerated
\nstate in the union.<\/p>\n
So who is getting detained, cited, arrested, convicted, and jailed?<\/p>\n
According to Vice-Chief Steve Clark, 42% of arrests are of homeless people.
\n32% of the citations written are to homeless people, virtually none for violent crimes.
\nIn fact, the three most-cited crimes in Santa Cruz do not\u00a0have an
\nactual victim complaining.<\/p>\n
The crime wave in Santa Cruz requiring such a large police force is mostly for BEING in a park after hours, camping, or for smoking.<\/p><\/div>\n
A “campsite” can be a car. It can be a piece of cardboard set down on wet grass in a park.<\/p><\/div>\n
The safest way to curb police power is to reign in their budgets.<\/p>\n
–Becky Johnson<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What’s up with the SCPD? by Becky Johnson May 16, 2015 Santa Cruz, CA.\u00a0 — As communities across the country fight against police oppression and brutality, we galvanize in our resolve to reform police departments so that they are … Continue reading