Budget Proposal: Governor Newsom Plans $200 Million Reduction in State Law Enforcement Funding
SACRAMENTO, Calif.- Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, has proposed a new state budget that will reduce funding for numerous state law enforcement efforts by a total of about $200 million.
More than $80 million will be allocated to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, a reduction of $97 million will be made to the operations of trial courts, and the state Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement will get $10 million. These adjustments are described in the budget plan that the governor presented in May.
Several of the alterations, according to the governor’s office, are in line with the ongoing cutbacks in the operations of the state. At the moment, the state of California is dealing with a deficit of $27.6 billion, and it is anticipated that the deficit will increase to $28.4 billion in the following year.
The planned reductions come at a time when a number of localities in California are experiencing an increase in the number of crimes. According to KRON, the supermarket chain Safeway terminated the use of self-checkout devices at a few of its sites in the San Francisco Bay Area last month in response to an increase in merchandise theft.
The Fredericksen Hardware & Paint company apparently implemented a technique in February in which personnel joined consumers in the Bay Area while they were shopping.
As a result of persistent criminal activity in the surrounding region, including car break-ins and armed robberies, the fast food brand In-N-Out closed its one and only location in Oakland in March.
In a number of instances, cities that have reduced their traditional enforcement efforts and shifted their resources correspondingly have suffered from increases in criminal activity. According to research published by “Our America” in 2023, a number of countries’ medium-sized cities were experiencing an increase in the rate of criminal activity.
In light of the fact that California “improperly” claimed payments for services that were delivered to noncitizens, the state’s budgetary problems have arisen as a result of the requirement that it repay $52.7 million to the federal government.
In response to a request for comment that was made by The National Desk (TND) on Thursday, Newsom’s office did not immediately take action. There were “no cuts to law enforcement” in the most recent budget, according to former statements made by a spokeswoman to Fox News.