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Mayor Garcetti Says He Wants $250M In Budget Cuts, To Be Redirected To Communities Of Color
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti announced today he wants to redirect $250 million from the city's budget towards health and education in the black community and other communities of color, adding that he is listening to "what people are saying" about racial inequities in society.
He directed the city administrative officer to find the cuts, which he said would come from every department, including the LAPD.
That money will go to jobs in health and education and will be "focused on our black community here in Los Angeles, as well as communities of color, and women and people who have been left behind," Garcetti said, adding that the funding will be designed to "lead to structural reform, not just one-off payments for this moment."
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Garcetti also promised concrete changes to how the LAPD operates.
"We need to make a firm commitment to change, not just with words but with actions," he said.
STEPS ON REFORM
- Garcetti is placing a moratorium on adding people to the Cal Gang database, a collection of the names of people thought to be gang members, which has been roundly criticized for inaccuracies.
- He promised to invest in "young people" through community service and youth development, to "keep people away from any criminal justice system."
- He said he will increase departmental training, focusing on implicit bias.
THE POLICE COMMISSION ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL STEPS
L.A. Police Commission President Eileen Decker said her panel will work with the city administratiive officer to identify $100-$150 million that could be cut from the LAPD budget for reinvestment in communities of color. She said she and her colleagues are working on "establishing an agressive reform agenda," that allows for increased transparency and accountability, including:
- Amending training for cadets to "accurately portray the history of the police dept."
- Amending department policy to require officers to intervene when other officers use "excessive force"
- Supporting the establishment of an independent prosecutor outside the D.A.'s office to work on cases of police misconduct
- Improving programs that keep kids out of juvenile detention
- Expanding mental health training for police officers, as well as de-escalation and crowd control training
- Figuring out if the early warning system can be used to better identify "problematic" officer behavior more quickly
- Making LAPD documents more transparent to the public — specifically on use of force complaints, crime stats, dept. policies and data on racial profiling
CURFEW
The mayor said if all goes well tonight, the city will not impose a curfew tomorrow.
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