Violent crime is on the rise . In National City, violent crime is up by 12%, in Chula Vista it is up by 16%, and in San Diego it is up by 20%. The only way to deter violent crime is to ensure that our local police departments have enough officers to patrol our neighborhoods and ensure that if anyone breaks the law they will be held accountable. 

When I served on the City Council, I advocated for the reform of our Police Department to improve the relationship between police officers and the community they serve. This included hiring more police officers to patrol our neighborhoods, engage the community, and deter crime. In 2017, San Diego had the fewest police officers in modern history with less than 1,800 officers. We paid police officers so poorly that many left San Diego for other cities to work for better pay. Thanks to my advocacy, we passed a historic increase in officer pay, and the department began growing again. But we need to do more. I will push for increased funding from the state to allow cities to increase the size of their police departments to address increasing violent crime while allowing them to reform the way they engage with the community they serve