California cities and counties received billions of dollars in COVID relief from both the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). A new report from The Guardian shows much of that money went to local police departments, with many cities allocating over 50% of the funds to law enforcement.
According to The Guardian:
- San Francisco received $312m in Arpa funds for fiscal year 2020 and allocated 49% ($153m) to police, 13% ($41m) to the sheriff’s department, and the remainder to the fire department, according to the city controller. San Francisco also gave roughly 22% ($38.5m) of its Cares funds to law enforcement.
- Los Angeles spent roughly 50% of its first round of Arpa relief funds on the LAPD, according to a public records request by the controller candidate Kenneth Mejia, and first reported in local news site LA Taco.
- Fresno spent $36.6m of its Cares funds on the police, making up 67% of Cares spending on city salaries, and roughly 40% of all of Fresno’s Cares funds.
- San Jose allocated roughly $27.8m of its Cares and Arpa funds to police salaries and the police dispatch department, representing about 12% of its relief money.
- Long Beach allocated the majority of its $135.8 million Arpa funds to police, though a spokesperson said a detailed breakdown of funds was not available.
- Oakland allocated $5m (13.5%) of its Cares funds to police salaries; Sacramento allocated $2.2m (2.5%) of Cares funds to police; and San Diego spent roughly $60.1m (64%) of its Cares funds on police in fiscal year 2020, and $52.6m (33%) in fiscal year 2021.
Cities offered various explanations for the large allocations to law enforcement. Long Beach cited the police department’s significant involvement in pandemic response. Oakland’s controller called it an “accounting strategy” to avoid public safety cuts and allow the city to “pursue a great variety of worthy projects directed at Covid relief.”
The revelations were lambasted by social justice advocates.
“It was called the ‘American Rescue Plan’, but you’re telling me that what needed to be rescued was the police department?” Skid Row activist Stephen “Cue” Jn-Marie told The Guardian. “The city’s kneejerk reaction is always to use law enforcement to respond to everything … and the police forces keep getting larger.”