Public Comment: Concord City Council Special Meeting on Policing

Please join us during Public Comment at the Concord City Council Special Meeting Study Session on Policing on Wednesday 7/15. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM.

Give public comment in support of Defunding the Police and Investing in Communities. Remind City Council that public safety is more than policing and a presentation on police procedures is not enough. Demand that City Council include nonprofits and community members in the conversation.

View the meeting agenda and details to join the City Council’s Zoom Webinar here: https://stream.ci.concord.ca.us/OnBaseAgendaOnline/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=545&doctype=1

Talking Points for Comments: 

A presentation on police procedures from the police and city council is not enough. Include nonprofits and community members in the conversation

• We need to hear from nonprofits working in Concord to provide vital services that create public safety. They work directly in the community. They know what needs communities in Concord have. Any conversation about improving public safety has to include the input of these nonprofits. Many of these organizations are significantly underfunded, and that needs to change. The city must schedule a second study session for community organizations to present their work and their needs.
• We need to hear from community members. Many Concord residents experience harassment from police officers on a regular basis. Vulnerable Concord residents also experience a lack of well-funded social programs that ensure basic human needs are met. We need to listen to their stories and their cries for help. The city must schedule a Town Hall event where community members can engage in a back and forth discussion with the city, something not possible in the 3-minute public comments in regular meetings and study sessions.

Public Safety is more than policing.

• The safety police provide is not equitable. Police do not solve the root of an individual’s problems, they only punish actions resulting from those problems. Because of this, the likelihood of repeat arrests and incarcerations is high. Taxpayer money would be better spent providing for the basic needs of Concord residents and diversion programs.

Housing is public safety.

• Housing insecurity and/or homelessness are barriers to employment, healthcare, mental health support, and other vital needs. In order for Concord residents to live safe, healthy lives, we must provide subsidies for housing for low income families and increase affordable housing units in Concord
• Policing and incarceration only punish and criminalize homelessness and housing insecurity. When unhoused people are released from custody, their situation hasn’t changed other than a lengthened criminal record.
• Lack of secure housing exacerbates mental health issues, makes treatment more difficult, and makes incidents more public, which increases the likelihood of police involvement in mental health response.
• Protecting tenants prevents homelessness. As rents increase and wages stagnate, families are displaced. We need rent control and a just cause for evictions policy that helps families keep their homes.

Mental health care is public safety.

• Armed police are not the best people to respond to someone experiencing a mental health crisis. Some patrol officers may recognize common mental illness behaviors, but it’s not reasonable to expect them to make a meaningful clinical assessment of people with mental illness while in the field. Trained and unarmed crisis intervention specialists should be responding to these calls.
• Police using presence, body language, verbal commands to take charge and fast/aggressive actions to react to threats or perceived threats is in direct opposition of best practice for mental illness response.
• Police are trained to view everyone as a threat. This creates violent and potentially life-threatening encounters rather than opportunities to offer vital services to people who need help.
• To continue our current system of policing, we are not only complicit in the criminalization and dehumanization of unhoused people and other marginalized communities, we are funding it.

Youth services are public safety.

• Providing after-school programs helps enrich children’s lives, as well as help parents to work and support their families
• Community centers provide resources, relationships, and guidance to empower youth.
• We expect children to learn and get involved in communities, but funding for their programs is cut back every year
• Police involvement in youth services lowers kids’ sense of safety, preventing them from becoming fully engaged and involved.

Food security is public safety.

• Food security is a major determinant of school performance for youth. If we want to take care of our children, we need to make sure they are fed.
• There will always be outliers and exceptions, but for the most part, people don’t commit crimes when their basic needs are met. The best way to reduce crime is to ensure people are housed, fed, and healthy.

Healthcare is public safety.

• Affordable and accessible healthcare is a human right and promotes community stability.
• Our tax dollars would be much better spent analyzing the health and wellness of our communities and setting healthcare goals that improve the overall wellness of families rather than spending $63 million dollars a year on police.

Racial Justice is public safety.

• Black Lives Matter
• Black and Brown people are not provided safety from policing the same way white people are.
• Black and Brown communities are over-policed and criminalized, to the point that many people avoid calling 911 in emergency situations due to fear of mistreatment or violence from police.
• “Tough on Crime” rhetoric by politicians is inherently racist. When politicians advocate for over-policing of Black and Brown communities, they are saying that people of color are more likely to commit crimes which is untrue. These types of actions further vilify communities of color and do absolutely nothing to reduce violent crime in any neighborhood.
• The reason there are continued murders of people of color by police across the country in many different cities is because of systemic racism and a culture of violence which is deeply embedded in police systems. We need to value Black and Brown lives while they are still alive.
• We need to invest in equitable public safety for all, including historically criminalized communities. That looks like investing in housing services and security, mental health services, healthcare, food security, and youth services.
• To continue our current system of policing, we are not only complicit in the criminalization and dehumanization of communities of color and other marginalized communities, we are funding it.

Concord Police Officers are some of the highest-paid city employees.

• You can view the salaries and pensions of Concord Police Officers here: Transparent California

Concord Police are required to comply with Senate Bill 1421

• This bill requires “…peace officer or custodial officer personnel records and records relating to specified incidents, complaints, and investigations involving peace officers and custodial officers to be made available for public inspection pursuant to the California Public Records Act” redacting only personal data of those involved.
• You can read the text of SB1421 here: CA Legislative Information: SB1421
• To our knowledge, Concord has released information regarding 4 police officer-involved shootings in Concord, but this information and other complaint records and rulings are not prominently accessible on the City website.