With crime on the rise, let’s remember who is responsible for cuts in neighborhood patrols -- our police union. They lobbied hard for a budget that cut patrols in order to pay for their raises. And now they are gaslighting us about it.

In the middle of a severe budget crisis, the police union (LAPPL) aggressively lobbied for a budget proposal that would have sizably increased the LAPD budget while CUTTING neighborhood patrols by 220,000 hours a year.

To pay for their raises, LAPPL was willing to throw everyone under the bus - including their civilian coworkers. They were ok with moving sworn officers off patrol and onto desk duty. They were OK with cutting gang intervention programs.

To pay for their raises, the LAPPL was OK with deferring purchase of LAFD equipment, gutting the city’s emergency response dept, cutting senior lunch programs, renter and small business assistance, youth programs & basic city services.

Council minimized some of the damage, but even though the LAPD budget was barely impacted, due to those raises, LAPD cut patrols. If spikes in crime are related to patrols reductions, it is due to LAPPL. And now they are lying about it.

To score political points and fight reform, LAPPL likes to pretend elected officials dramatically cut the LAPD budget. Nope. In fact, LAPD received a budget cut of less than 1%, fiscal year to fiscal year. ($1.733b to $1.721 billion.)

The impact of patrol presence is almost entirely a function of the cost of the police raises. LA taxpayers are basically paying the same amount of money for police, and getting fewer patrols.

By comparison, the agency helping renters facing eviction took a 10% cut, as did the Emergency Mgmt Dept. The agency that feeds seniors took a 7% cut, so did agency helping small biz. The department that fixes streets took a 20% cut.

LAPPL won’t even discuss delaying — not cancelling - raises — to address the fiscal crisis. They’ve abandoned Angelenos at their greatest time of need & said LAPD should be exempt from all cuts & have recommended steeper cuts in other departments.

LAPPL doesn’t want you to know that the LAPD gets HALF of the city’s discretionary money. When LAPPL says we should close a $600 million budget gap without looking at our largest dept, they are arguing for a decimation of vital services.

City budget analysts are preparing a report on the fiscal crisis. They will probably recommend layoffs. The only way to stop layoffs and dramatic service cuts is salary savings. LAPPL is forcing cuts by refusing to discuss the alternative.

LA is suffering through multiple crises. In a time of shared sacrifice, we all need to pull together, But instead of protecting and serving, the LAPPL is deflecting and self-serving. It doesn't need to be this way.

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