The Oakland City Council voted last week to extend the Department of Violence Prevention’s current contracts and funding through September. But they may have to significantly cut their services come fall. Mayor Sheng Thao’s proposed budget, which she unveiled on May 1st, would cut the department’s budget by more than six million dollars.
The department, established in 2017, was meant to approach public safety differently than traditional law enforcement. Much of the department’s budget goes towards funding community organizations.
Tunisia Owens of the Family Violence Law Center — one of the groups that receives Department of Violence funding — says that groups like hers are crucial to stopping violence.
“If someone does not feel confident in their ability to work with law enforcement, we can still work with them. And having our services cut means that those people would not be able to be served," Owens said.
Many of the organizations that work with the Department have held press conferences outside City Hall to protest. Some city council members have proposed budget amendments that would allocate more funding to the department. Oakland City Council has until June 30th to finalize the budget.
