Recently, Capital Public Radio ran a story about the lack of clarity as to what constitutes jaywalking in the minds of Sacramento Police Officers. The story also noted the unwillingness of several city and state agencies to talk about those laws or how they are enforced.
In response, Sacramento's mayor says uneven enforcement of the law is a problem the city must address.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg says the city and its police department have a problem.
"Law enforcement says, 'Well, in an area where there's a disproportionate amount of crime committed by African American males, we're gonna stop more African American males' and the African American community says, 'Well, if I'm innocent, then you're just stopping me for no reason,'" says Steinberg.
So how does the mayor propose to reconcile that?
"To me there's only answer," says Steinberg. "We need to bring back genuine community policing. What does that mean? We need sufficient number of officers dedicated in neighborhoods so that they know the community and the community knows them."
Steinberg says that will take money for more dedicated officers and more incentives for police to live in the neighborhoods they serve.
The mayor says funding for those items will be part of this year's budget discussions.
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