Oakland Mayor: ‘Oakland Needs More Police’ and ‘Defund Rhetoric’ Makes It Harder to Do That, ‘We Need State and Federal Resources’

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “OutFront,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf (D) stated that the city “needs more police” and that “the defund rhetoric is challenging our ability to attract and retain recruits.” Schaaf also called for resources from the state and federal governments to stop the coordinated efforts of criminal groups.

Schaaf said, “Oakland needs more police. We have been impacted by staffing reductions. COVID interrupted our recruitment and training processes, and the defund rhetoric is challenging our ability to attract and retain recruits. And we know that that is not unique to Oakland.”

She later added, “We are looking at the interruption of our entire criminal justice system, the court system, the impacts of new policies with regard to bail. Everything is on the table as we look at a comprehensive approach to turn the tide of this spike in violence. No one is absent from being part of the solution, and we have to have better coordination. I mean, you talked about the coordinated impacts of these criminal caravans. We need state and federal resources to interrupt those efforts. Lord knows they’re coordinated. We need to be coordinated, as well.”

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