Criminal Legal System Divestment

CALL TO ACTION:  support needed at the 10/15/24 Sacramento City Council meeting  at 2pm! If you’re able, please show up to this meeting...

TL;DR: the Sacramento Police Department seems to be able to get anyway with doing anything they want, including murdering our community members, breaking the law, violating peoples' constitutional rights, and engaging in targeted racial profiling and discrimination. So, they deserve a raise, right?

TL;DR:

As a Black woman, I find the concept of acting out of character so interesting. Acting out of character, what a phrase. Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage, all the men and women merely players.”

Today, we’re reporting back on a conversation we had with Eleanor Oliver, a member of Decarcerate Sacramento, who took the time to share their story regarding the criminal legal system with us!

This week we’re taking a look at the false narratives, lies, and propaganda fed to folks in the Sacramento area (and across the country) about the “necessity” of law enforcement (LE).

On 8/8/23 the Sac County BOS voted on an item amending a contract with jail expansion design firm Nacht & Lewis, and a second item approving the selection of Kitchell/CEM, Inc, for construction management services and approving the intent of the county to secure a $925Million bond ($2BILLION with interest!!) to fund this expansion.

At the June 20th Sacramento City Council meeting, the City's Office of Public Safety Accountability presented their Audit of the Sacramento Police Department (SPD): Misconduct Complaint Cases

Once again, the Sacramento City Council was faced with a request for even more money and ‘protective’ equipment for the Sacramento Police Department.

At the 3/28 City Council Meeting, the SCPRC's work plan was discussed and voted on. Mayor Steinberg opened the discussion - and though he gave the Commission credit for updates to their work plan as well the Commission’s approach, he commented that he wants the Commission to be more “independent” and “assertive” in their recommendations.

In June of 2021 the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a new 24/7 mental health crisis response program with the hopes that it would be ready and operational no later than July 2022. This program is now known as the Community Wellness Response Team (CWRT).

During the 2/13/23 Sacramento Community Police Review Commission meeting, the Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) gave a presentation on the state of police use-of-force policy within the Sacramento PD. This presentation (given by Allyssa Victory, ACLU Staff Attorney) was mainly focused on the implications of Sacramento City’s current use of force policies within its police department.

Sacramento’s social justice community has spent the better part of the last couple years gritting their teeth and doing their best to stay positive while the Sacramento City Council voted to do the wrong thing, over and over again. With very few exceptions, vote totals ended up being 7-2, with only Katie Valenzuela and Mai Vang ever appearing to have much of a conscience.

This year we saw the County bring back its plan to expand the jail, despite the community having previously blocked an expansion on 3/10/21 (to learn more click here). Once again, the public has been lied to & the county is breaking promises made to explore solutions other than a jail expansion.

At the Sacramento City Council meeting on October 11th, the community came together in a beautiful way to embarrass and shame our...

Councilmember Schenirer, who Mayor Steinberg said led the Law and Legislation Committee’s efforts on the ‘Comprehensive Cannabis Study,’ (report linked here) made opening remarks and acknowledged the difficulty the City has...

At the Sacramento Board of Supervisors on 2/8/22, the Inmate Welfare Fund Annual Report For Fiscal Year 2020- 2021 was presented (item 31).