Advancing a New Approach to Public Safety
Public safety is becoming an increasingly important issue for many constituents. Even though crime is going down throughout the state, in the East Bay it is on the rise. At the same time, we have heard the concerns from communities that have been historically negatively impacted by racial disparities in police enforcement. Improving public safety and improving police accountability are not mutually exclusive, and in Berkeley we are leading the way in showing that we can do both at the same time.
Reimagining Public Safety is not something that happens overnight. It requires systematic changes that can take years of progress. When the Council voted to begin this process in 2020, it was split into two phases. The first phase, from 2020-2022, focused on community outreach, data analysis, and creating a framework to transition to a new system. The second phase, which is now underway, works on the implementation of this framework. This newsletter will dive into the history of Reimagining Public Safety and the work that has been done over the past three and a half years. By doing this work, we will create a lasting legacy of reimagining public safety that can be used as a template for other jurisdictions to follow.
The Road to Reimagining
Thousands of Berkeley residents marched through the streets in June 2020, one of countless rallies throughout the country to demand changes to policing after a series of high-profile incidents of police brutality across the nation. A month later, the Berkeley City Council heeded these calls and introduced and approved a series of proposals around reimagining public safety. Highlights of this legislative package include:
Conduct a data-driven study that includes analysis of police calls and responses.
Develop the Specialized Care Unit consisting of trained crisis-response workers who would respond to 911 calls evaluated as non-criminal that pose no imminent threat.
Evaluate functions currently served by Berkeley Police personnel which could be better served by trained non-sworn city staff or community partners.
Create an inclusive, and transparent community engagement process with the goal of achieving a new and transformative model of positive, equitable and community-centered safety for Berkeley.
Explore the creation of a Berkeley Department of Transportation that would oversee traffic enforcement and related transportation policies.
Identify and implement approaches to reduce and/or eliminate the practice of pretextual stops based on minor traffic violations.
Much of these proposals were incorporated as referrals to the City Manager, who was requested to engage with consultants and experts to do a deeper dive into research and analysis. In December 2020, the City entered into a contract with the National Institute of Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) to develop reports and recommendations on community safety and police reform, in addition to engaging in a community process. In conjunction with this, a Reimagining Public Safety Task Force was created, which brought together a diverse group of Berkeley residents with backgrounds in public safety, social justice, healthcare, and violence prevention.
A New Framework for Public Safety Approved
In March 2022, reports from both the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and NICJR were completed and presented to Council. The reports analyzed and built upon the recommendations from 2020, with the final recommendations being refined as follows:
Establishing a Specialized Care Unit (SCU) consisting of trained crisis-response workers who would respond to 911 calls that an operator evaluates as non-criminal mental health calls and poses no imminent threat to the safety of first responders.
Reforming and expanding the dispatch center to improve response rates to violent crimes while redirecting non-criminal calls to non-sworn or civilian responders who are experts in that field (i.e. mental health).
Investing $1 million in upstream community safety investments in critical services like violence prevention, youth services, community mental health, respite from gender violence and language equity.
Establishing an Office of Racial Equity to that will support the City’s strategic goal to champion and demonstrate social and racial equity throughout all City departments.
Additionally, the recommendations provided suggestions on how to support the police department and improve upon their practices by:
Using data analysis to inform effective deployment and to reduce racial disparities.
Expanding investigative capacities to resolve violent crimes.
Increasing transparency through a new data portal.
Supporting task force recommendations to improve relationships with community providers that support survivors of gender violence and support our LGBTQIA community.
These actions, gathering input from the community, analyzing information, and developing recommendations and a framework for reimagining public safety, mark the end of Phase One of this process.
Implementing the Reimagining Framework
We are now in Phase Two of the process, which consists of establishing new programs and protocols to fulfill the recommendations that have been provided. This work began in 2022 and will be ongoing throughout the rest of the year. This includes staffing investments throughout multiple departments, including Police, Public Works, and Health, Housing, and Community Services. There are ongoing costs related to assessing, improving, and implementing programs such as dispatch needs, crisis response, beat structures, and BerkDOT. Improving traffic safety under Vision Zero is a key area, with the goal of eliminating fatal and severe traffic crashes. Additionally, there are community investments through violence prevention initiatives, engagement programs and mental health services.
Some of these programs have already been implemented or have made significant progress. Highlights include:
Launching the Berkeley Police Transparency Hub to provide publicly available data on a wide range of topics, including calls for service, stop data, use of force, traffic safety, and current trends.
Advancing the Berkeley Ceasefire Program, a partnership between law enforcement, community members, and social service provides to reduce gun violence, including a $1 million investment to provide full staffing for the program.
Establishing a partnership with the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy to design a Gun Violence Prevention Program, with a report published last year.
Launching the Specialized Care Unit in September 2023, with plans to expand the service to 24/7 (currently available daily from 6am-4pm as of February 2024).
As a whole, Reimagining Public Safety is an ambitious program that will take several years to fully implement. But the foundations have been laid to achieve these goals, as we continue to cultivate a community-centered approach to this critical matter.
Improving Public Safety and Police Accountability
Public safety and police accountability is not an either/or equation. Rather, through the Reimagining Public Safety Process, we can demonstrate that both can be achieved and complement one another. Addressing regional rises in crime is a major priority for elected officials, law enforcement, and constituents. That is why earlier this year, the Mayor launched a Regional Public Safety Partnership to bring together cities and law enforcement agencies across the East Bay to work collaboratively on addressing regional crime trends such as violent crime and organized retail theft.
Berkeley voters approved a new vision for police accountability in 2020 with the creation of the Police Accountability Board, the successor to the Police Review Commission. This independent oversight will provide imperial and fair investigations of complaints received from the public against police officers. The Office of the Director of Police Accountability serves as the secretary of the Board, in addition to their duties of investigating complaints of alleged misconduct.
What is important to note is that policing has evolved over the decades, with more and more responsibilities being assigned which are better off being handled by others. Programs such as the Specialized Care Unit will help free up time for police officers to better respond to and proactively deal with the issues they are trained to deal with, while ensuring that people with a mental health crisis who do not pose a safety threat are responded to by trained mental health professionals. Taking steps to increase accountability and decrease racial disparities will also build trust, which in turn will make it easier to solve crimes while building community.
Over a century ago, Berkeley was at the forefront of modern day policing. Now, Berkeley is yet again leading the way in the 21st century in showing how we can expand upon public safety while supporting modern, effective, fair and accountable policing. Let us continue on this path, prioritizing equity, compassion, and community. It’s not only possible, it’s necessary.