I am calling on you, my elected officials, to reimagine public safety for all in Richmond, not just a few. There is a scarcity of resources that the most underserved in our communities need access to. I am asking you to support the reallocation of funding from the Richmond Police Department budget to fund five new safety programs that target the root causes of homelessness, gun violence, mental health crises, racial profiling, and youth unemployment.
The City of Richmond needs to reinvest in a public safety system that reflects our values and priorities for all community members. Right now, about 40% of the city’s general funds go to the Richmond Police department, which is $612 per capita spending on police. That is to say, when compared to 25 of the largest cities in the country, Richmond comes in the only 4th after Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Chicago in police spending.

We know that police do not prevent crime, but show up after it has been committed and often escalate civilian encounters that are not conducive to our community’s needs. We need you to reimagine how we address problems through prevention, intervention, and pro-action, instead of reaction. Please support the proposals from the Reimaging Public Safety Community Taskforce.