SAN JOSE – San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo is calling for an increase in foot patrols in the city as part of the new budget that will be presented to the city council on Tuesday.
“We want to re-initiate the era of community policing where officers will be building relationships of trust in the community. We want them to talk to business owners and residents rather than have them drive around in patrol cars,” the mayor said.
The new budget includes funding to add twenty officers to the SJPD.
It also adds four officers to the department’s mobile crisis assessment team which pairs officers with mental health professions to better respond to those emergencies.
Unlike many cities, San Jose never “defunded” the police which led to protests and graffiti vandalism at Liccardo’s downtown home.
“We’re going to continue to invest in our police because we know it’s important to our community. But we’re also going to continue to push for a lot of reforms as we already have and we’re going to continue to push,” Liccardo said.
San Jose Police had no official comment on the mayor’s plans.
But neighbors we spoke with said foot patrols could increase their own safety and help rebuild trust.
“We go to school at night and sometimes it’s scary walking back to our cars at night. And so having foot patrols would make me feel safer,” said Brianna Ortega.
One neighbor says he remembers foot patrols from decades ago that helped cut down on drug dealing on the streets.
“There were foot patrols before, and I appreciated them because they were doing their job,” said downtown neighbor Richard Bear.
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