The City of San Pablo launched a Citywide Public Safety Survey this month due to safety concerns about rising crime in Richmond and the Richmond City Council’s recent decision to divert funds away from the Richmond Police Department, said officials in the City’s newsletter.
Survey takers will be contacting the public so that the City of San Pablo can better understand residents’ public safety concerns and issues, according to the City, which cited “the recent increase in homicides” and “other violent criminal activity happening next door” in Richmond.
The City is encouraging residents to participate in the survey if they are contacted. The results will then being analyzed for presentation to the City Council sometime this summer.
Last month, the Richmond City Council comprising of seven members — four of whom are members of an activist group called the Richmond Progressive Alliance — voted to divert $3 million from the RPD, resulting in a permanent reduction of 12 sworn officer positions. In the last seven years under RPA leadership on council, the Police Department has seen its number of sworn officers dwindle by 26 percent, from 196 to 145. Meanwhile, gun violence is on the rise.
San Pablo officials noted they are “concerned about these recent developments in Richmond” and “want to ensure that criminal activity from that city does not occur in San Pablo.”
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