Fresno police must show faster 911 response times, less military-style tactics

In 2017 I called for three key actions to address Fresno’s increasing crime rate: passage of a parks and public safety tax initiative, growing the pipeline of new police officers, and improving police oversight.

Today, while we passed a parks initiative, Measure P, I am disappointed to see that crime has increased significantly, despite a record investment of tax dollars in the Fresno Police Department. But there is hope.

As a City Council member, it is my job to guide public safety policy. Looking at past decisions, and reviewing our current realities, it is clear we must rethink how best to protect the public and provide a safe community for all of us.

In the last two years, the Police Department budget increased by $40 million, which funded a 5% salary increase for officers and a complicated web of special units. Despite this record investment, however, about 1 in 4 sworn officer positions are not available for work on any given day because 88 officers are on long-term medical leave, plus there are 60 vacant positions. This doesn’t even include normal absenteeism, like short-term illness, training or vacation.

Given this shortage of officers on the street, it makes no sense to let our officers moonlight, but yet half of them do. On their days off, they work as private security for Walmart, Apple, Bobby Salazar’s and other businesses that can afford the extra pay for officers. While the average resident is forced to wait nearly 10 minutes for a response from 911 dispatch, these select businesses get an immediate police response. This is fundamentally unfair to our residents and taxpayers.

According to the Police Department’s crime report, while Fresno’s crime rate hit a record high in 2020, 911 calls dropped by 100,000 that same year. This makes me think residents don’t believe calling 911 does much good anymore. This conclusion is confirmed by the fact officers commonly report leaving their shift with hundreds of unanswered calls. As if this were not enough, the city has been forced to settle legal cases for excessive force by Fresno officers, costing taxpayers multimillions of dollars, further reducing available resources for more sworn officers. The evidence is clear: the current policing model is expensive and has not reduced crime or improved community safety.

Thankfully, a group of thoughtful, dedicated community leaders on our Police Reform Commission provided recommendations for improving safety on our streets and neighborhoods. They spent countless hours searching for local and national experts; they heard from thousands of community residents, young and old; and presented us with well-researched recommendations. Implementing their recommendations, along with a significant increase in patrol officers that respond to 911 calls and community-driven projects like Advance Peace, will rebuild trust in our Police Department and improve community safety.

I am confident Police Chief Paco Balderrama has the necessary support to begin this work, especially if he follows the example set by our Fire Department which, after a thorough peer review, implemented hundreds of recommendations to improve operational and firefighter safety. As a result, last year the City Council adopted the final recommendation by hiring a record 42 new full-time firefighters and recovering the actual cost of fire inspections. These changes will provide city residents faster fire response times and better service.

Our Police Department can do the same, and with Chief Balderama’s leadership and the City Council’s support, we will overcome challenges like unavailable officers, vacancies, and legal and financial obstacles that stand in our way. Our rank-and-file officers deserve a department and city budget that adds and assigns more officers to patrol so they can reduce 911 response times and positively engage with our residents.

Simply returning to the good old days of a larger police budget that funds more of the same — specialty units and military tactics — will only lead to more of the same, namely record crime and long response times.

I invite the community to participate in our upcoming budget deliberations. We can do much better to invest and protect our neighborhoods. With your help, we will do a much better job of protecting our neighborhoods and using our tax dollars wisely.