Residents in Vallejo, California, are desperate for the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to step in and combat crime that has been plaguing their Bay Area community for quite some time.
The area has been suffering from dangerous car sideshows, drug crime, shootings, and shoplifting incidents, Fox News reported on Monday.
In her petition on Change.org, resident Paula Conley addressed the issues and said:
I am deeply concerned about the safety of my community. Our city has been grappling with escalating crime rates due to severe understaffing in our local police department. We deserve a clean and safe city where we can live without fear.
She also cited rampant prostitution and excessive speeding that make the area dangerous for neighbors.
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“We believe that additional support from California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Sheriff officers could significantly help address this issue,” Conley wrote, adding “Therefore, we are petitioning Governor Newsom to deploy CHP/Sheriff officers to assist Vallejo with its spiraling crime problem.”
The Fox report said CHP “will expand its presence” into the area, noting the governor sent CHP officers to crime-ridden Oakland months ago.
“We have the exact same problems Oakland does, but we’re just a smaller city. It’s going to take manpower to really help us,” Conley said.
Video footage from August showed a car sideshow in Vallejo that ended in one person being killed and at least one other individual getting hurt, per KPIX:
During a recent press conference, CHP Deputy Commissioner Ezery Beauchamp said the agency has been helping the Vallejo Police Department since the summer.
Newsom recently said the city’s leadership must address the police staffing problems. He told Vallejo residents they were not going to get CHP to do the work that falls to local officers but state leaders would support them.
Conley agreed with Newsom’s statements and said as in the case of Oakland police officers, Vallejo was expected to run its department correctly and efficiently to serve the public well.
The Fox article noted, “In September, the governor signed emergency legislation to allow retired Solano County sheriff’s deputies to return to the force full-time to help meet Vallejo’s public safety needs.”
In December, Conley told KTVU, “It’s a man-made disaster. It’s a crisis. We need help and that’s going to take manpower. I’m a native here. I love it. I hate to see it like this and I hate people disrespecting it like they are.”
As of Monday, the petition has 3,517 signatures.
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