SJPD has shown that they are either not able or not willing to be responsible and accountable for this outrageous amount of funding. They have repeatedly dismissed the public's concerns. Meanwhile, we are one of the first US cities hit by COVID-19 and San Jose schools are consistently rated below average and racist. Let's try building up our community instead of crashing into it with a motorcycle.
Defund the police budget and invest in communities. In my work with children, I've always found that providing youth with tools to be successful as a much more successful and way to create a lasting impact on their lives than punishment. What needs to be done to create lasting change in San Jose and across the country is to invest more in services and resources. San Jose should invest in services centering around health, counseling, homelessness, education and recreation
San Jose is falling behind. SAN JOSE, BE BRAVE! Invest in education and mental health services for the communities who need it. Sam says communities of color benefit from active police. They don’t! Police terrorize communities and most of SJPD is not even from SJ! It is important we invest and protect our youth and people seeking a better life. Our communities need more ACCESS to resources. SJPD has all the equipment while teachers buy their own supplies. Police don’t need more money!
The budget proposed for SJPD is grossly unacceptable!! These funds need to be reallocated back into our community!! Instead of funding the literal attack on our cities constitutes, we instead NEED be focused on supporting our ducational systems, our HUGE homeless population, our Healthcare systems, and libraries.
We the people of San Jose are DEMANDING that we defund the police. Divest in SJPD and REinvest in our community. Now.
I urge the council to reconsider the amount of funding going toward the SJPD. More police funding is addressing the symptom of crime and violence, not alleviating the root issue: poverty & wealth disparity. People resort to crime & violence because they lack the support from upbringing and opportunities to get out of those situations. Funds should be re-routed to support our underserved communities in the form of improving public education, accessible health services, and housing support.
I walk the streets of downtown San José, tune into city hall public hearings, and can clearly hear the voice and actions of residents demanding care. The current proposed budget does not reflect what the community needs. The current budget waters and prioritizes a system of corruption and violence. San José government show up for community support. Prioritize our collective voice. Allocate funds to education, housing, and healthcare
In recent days, San Jose has made national news. Unfortunately, it’s not due to an achievement or notable milestone. Instead, our city is being recognized nationally for the way that it’s police force unjustly and brutally attacked protestors with weapons of warfare. And instead of reprimanding this abuse power, San Liccardo instead wants to turn around and reward SJPD for their actions with a 4.1 BILLION dollar budget. This is a slap in the face to our community. Sam Liccardo must resign.
The resources of the SJPD must be divested and invested into other areas of our community immediately. We need funding for our homeless shelters, education (San Jose schools are overcrowded and underfunded), mental health resources, social workers, and after school programs. We have to invest in our community. The SJPD does little to help in those areas and more. To protect and serve our communities, we must defund the police.
As a constituent of San Jose, I find it disheartening that such a hefty portion of the SJ budget goes to SJPD, and that the 2020-2021 budget is looking to increase this amount. It is very important that we defund SJPD and rather allocate the finances to support other underfunded areas in our city (e.g. healthcare, education, homelessness, mental health services). We must continue to find other ways to make our city safer without risking the prevalent police brutality towards BIPOC.
Sorry, I mistyped in my bellow comment. 4 BILLION dollars. It's time for teachers to stop buying their own school supplies and deal with roaches in the classroom. DEFUND SJPD.
We need to reallocate the $4 MILLION DOLLAR police budget to community resources. The SJPD does not care for SJ's black and brown citizens. Police in three thousand dollars worth of riot gear -helmets, vests, gas masks, weapons- shot directly at unarmed protestors because of what? A few water bottles? And we are supposed to trust them to safely deescalate? Defund SJPD, invest in our communities, and stop the murder of innocent black and brown people.
DEFUND SJPD - REALLOCATE FUNDS for essential and prevention services! I am a public school teacher and COVID-19 revealed stark access inequities for our families in SJ. Start by reducing SJPD 2020-21 budget and put the dollars towards education, health, community centers, libraries etc. All of which provide a better quality of life! We used to pride ourselves on being a top safest city in the U.S., but that image won't come back through policing of communities and serving the already privileged.
City officials and the SJPD mobilized *immediately* in response to protests, yet provided little to no community support to the pandemic. The SJPD has used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang devices on peaceful protesters during the BLM movement signifying that our police department doesn't value black lives, it values power. Increasing the budget draws resources away from organizations that actually help the community (i.e. healthcare, social workers, homeless shelters, mental health).
Public safety doesn't come from arresting people, it comes from investing in our people and our communities. Defund the SJPD and allocate the dollars towards housing, schools, community centers, libraries. Do not spend CARES Act funding on policing, spend it on rent supports. We can do better.
I have been born and raised in SJ my entire life - living in both East and Southeast parts of the city, and now working in North SJ. It is disgustingly apparent that there are great disparities amongst these neighborhoods when it comes to public education, health, and safety, just to name a few. It is imperative that we reallocate part of the proposed police funds to supporting these at-risk communities by aiding our public schools and providing community programs. Please reconsider the budget.
Reallocate resources. SJPD is not adequate or qualified enough to address issues that plague our City such as mental health, homeless encampments, and addictions. We need to fund programs and empower qualified professionals and fund restorative programs and affordable housing options. A public agency that tolerates inappropriate behavior from its staff should not be so heavily funded. Period. The money that funds your jobs is public money please don’t forget that.
I'm a San Jose resident of district 6 and I demand that the San Jose City Council defund the police beginning with the 2020-21 city budget. Reformist policies supported by Mayor Liccardo in recent comments have already been attempted in many major cities across the U.S. and have been found to be ineffective in stopping the death and mistreatment of BIPOC at the hands of the police. I demand that the police be defunded and that those funds be invested in necessary community support services.
Our communities are sacred; we should be INVESTING in their health and success.
But giving millions more to SJPD is hurting our communities and their chances to thrive.
Stop diverting funds from crucial public services in order to militarize our LOCAL PD. INVEST in our CHILDREN’S education, HOUSING, and SOCIAL and COMMUNITY services.
Without the health of our community, we crumble. Without our community, you don’t have a job.
Make our community’s health a priority, instead of terrorizing us.
I urge City Council to abolish the San Jose Police Department. Study after study has proven that the police don't actually keep communities safe, especially Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Putting our City dollars towards strengthening the self-determination, autonomy, and well-being of community members is what will actually increase safety. As a start, I urge City Council to reallocate SJ police money towards safe & stable housing, community mental health, access to food, and health care.
Defund the San Jose Police Department. It shouldn't be difficult; the City has been defunding parks programs, City admin positions, and libraries for years. This is a dance you know all too well.
Divest. Demilitarize. Begin a zero tolerance policy regarding violent police conduct. Take away administrative leave for cops who kill.
Invest. Affordable housing, black-led community organizations, developing trauma-informed first responders in lieu of cops, mental health. Take care of your people.
SJPD has shown that they are either not able or not willing to be responsible and accountable for this outrageous amount of funding. They have repeatedly dismissed the public's concerns. Meanwhile, we are one of the first US cities hit by COVID-19 and San Jose schools are consistently rated below average and racist. Let's try building up our community instead of crashing into it with a motorcycle.
Defund the police budget and invest in communities. In my work with children, I've always found that providing youth with tools to be successful as a much more successful and way to create a lasting impact on their lives than punishment. What needs to be done to create lasting change in San Jose and across the country is to invest more in services and resources. San Jose should invest in services centering around health, counseling, homelessness, education and recreation
San Jose is falling behind. SAN JOSE, BE BRAVE! Invest in education and mental health services for the communities who need it. Sam says communities of color benefit from active police. They don’t! Police terrorize communities and most of SJPD is not even from SJ! It is important we invest and protect our youth and people seeking a better life. Our communities need more ACCESS to resources. SJPD has all the equipment while teachers buy their own supplies. Police don’t need more money!
The budget proposed for SJPD is grossly unacceptable!! These funds need to be reallocated back into our community!! Instead of funding the literal attack on our cities constitutes, we instead NEED be focused on supporting our ducational systems, our HUGE homeless population, our Healthcare systems, and libraries.
We the people of San Jose are DEMANDING that we defund the police. Divest in SJPD and REinvest in our community. Now.
I urge the council to reconsider the amount of funding going toward the SJPD. More police funding is addressing the symptom of crime and violence, not alleviating the root issue: poverty & wealth disparity. People resort to crime & violence because they lack the support from upbringing and opportunities to get out of those situations. Funds should be re-routed to support our underserved communities in the form of improving public education, accessible health services, and housing support.
I walk the streets of downtown San José, tune into city hall public hearings, and can clearly hear the voice and actions of residents demanding care. The current proposed budget does not reflect what the community needs. The current budget waters and prioritizes a system of corruption and violence. San José government show up for community support. Prioritize our collective voice. Allocate funds to education, housing, and healthcare
In recent days, San Jose has made national news. Unfortunately, it’s not due to an achievement or notable milestone. Instead, our city is being recognized nationally for the way that it’s police force unjustly and brutally attacked protestors with weapons of warfare. And instead of reprimanding this abuse power, San Liccardo instead wants to turn around and reward SJPD for their actions with a 4.1 BILLION dollar budget. This is a slap in the face to our community. Sam Liccardo must resign.
The resources of the SJPD must be divested and invested into other areas of our community immediately. We need funding for our homeless shelters, education (San Jose schools are overcrowded and underfunded), mental health resources, social workers, and after school programs. We have to invest in our community. The SJPD does little to help in those areas and more. To protect and serve our communities, we must defund the police.
As a constituent of San Jose, I find it disheartening that such a hefty portion of the SJ budget goes to SJPD, and that the 2020-2021 budget is looking to increase this amount. It is very important that we defund SJPD and rather allocate the finances to support other underfunded areas in our city (e.g. healthcare, education, homelessness, mental health services). We must continue to find other ways to make our city safer without risking the prevalent police brutality towards BIPOC.
Sorry, I mistyped in my bellow comment. 4 BILLION dollars. It's time for teachers to stop buying their own school supplies and deal with roaches in the classroom. DEFUND SJPD.
We need to reallocate the $4 MILLION DOLLAR police budget to community resources. The SJPD does not care for SJ's black and brown citizens. Police in three thousand dollars worth of riot gear -helmets, vests, gas masks, weapons- shot directly at unarmed protestors because of what? A few water bottles? And we are supposed to trust them to safely deescalate? Defund SJPD, invest in our communities, and stop the murder of innocent black and brown people.
DEFUND SJPD - REALLOCATE FUNDS for essential and prevention services! I am a public school teacher and COVID-19 revealed stark access inequities for our families in SJ. Start by reducing SJPD 2020-21 budget and put the dollars towards education, health, community centers, libraries etc. All of which provide a better quality of life! We used to pride ourselves on being a top safest city in the U.S., but that image won't come back through policing of communities and serving the already privileged.
City officials and the SJPD mobilized *immediately* in response to protests, yet provided little to no community support to the pandemic. The SJPD has used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang devices on peaceful protesters during the BLM movement signifying that our police department doesn't value black lives, it values power. Increasing the budget draws resources away from organizations that actually help the community (i.e. healthcare, social workers, homeless shelters, mental health).
Public safety doesn't come from arresting people, it comes from investing in our people and our communities. Defund the SJPD and allocate the dollars towards housing, schools, community centers, libraries. Do not spend CARES Act funding on policing, spend it on rent supports. We can do better.
I have been born and raised in SJ my entire life - living in both East and Southeast parts of the city, and now working in North SJ. It is disgustingly apparent that there are great disparities amongst these neighborhoods when it comes to public education, health, and safety, just to name a few. It is imperative that we reallocate part of the proposed police funds to supporting these at-risk communities by aiding our public schools and providing community programs. Please reconsider the budget.
Reallocate resources. SJPD is not adequate or qualified enough to address issues that plague our City such as mental health, homeless encampments, and addictions. We need to fund programs and empower qualified professionals and fund restorative programs and affordable housing options. A public agency that tolerates inappropriate behavior from its staff should not be so heavily funded. Period. The money that funds your jobs is public money please don’t forget that.
I'm a San Jose resident of district 6 and I demand that the San Jose City Council defund the police beginning with the 2020-21 city budget. Reformist policies supported by Mayor Liccardo in recent comments have already been attempted in many major cities across the U.S. and have been found to be ineffective in stopping the death and mistreatment of BIPOC at the hands of the police. I demand that the police be defunded and that those funds be invested in necessary community support services.
Our communities are sacred; we should be INVESTING in their health and success.
But giving millions more to SJPD is hurting our communities and their chances to thrive.
Stop diverting funds from crucial public services in order to militarize our LOCAL PD. INVEST in our CHILDREN’S education, HOUSING, and SOCIAL and COMMUNITY services.
Without the health of our community, we crumble. Without our community, you don’t have a job.
Make our community’s health a priority, instead of terrorizing us.
I urge City Council to abolish the San Jose Police Department. Study after study has proven that the police don't actually keep communities safe, especially Black, Indigenous, People of Color. Putting our City dollars towards strengthening the self-determination, autonomy, and well-being of community members is what will actually increase safety. As a start, I urge City Council to reallocate SJ police money towards safe & stable housing, community mental health, access to food, and health care.
Defund the San Jose Police Department. It shouldn't be difficult; the City has been defunding parks programs, City admin positions, and libraries for years. This is a dance you know all too well.
Divest. Demilitarize. Begin a zero tolerance policy regarding violent police conduct. Take away administrative leave for cops who kill.
Invest. Affordable housing, black-led community organizations, developing trauma-informed first responders in lieu of cops, mental health. Take care of your people.