The president of the San Francisco Police Officer Association ripped city officials Tuesday for not supporting the efforts of law enforcement to make communities safer as violent crime surges.
Lt. Tracy McCray joined "America's Newsroom" to emphasize the need for her city to put more resources back into the police unit after diverting money from law enforcement in 2020.
"We need more money to give cops," McCray said. "We would have had money if you didn't take 120 million away from us. But, you know, that's water under the bridge now. We need to figure out what we're going to do today."
San Francisco Mayor London Breed was among the politicians in major cities that joined the chorus of leaders diverting funds from police in the summer of 2020, only to reverse course the following year.
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"We will redirect $120 million from law enforcement to support these priorities over the next two years," Breed said in her announcement on July 31, 2020. "Let me repeat that. This is $120 million."
San Francisco was among cities across the country that saw crime increase in 2020 compared to 2019. Homicides increased by 20% that year compared to 2019, and by 17% in 2021 compared to 2020. While crimes such as rape and robbery decreased in 2020, burglaries increased by 47% in 2020 when compared to the three previous years, data complied by SFGate shows.
The San Francisco Police Department has reported more of the same as the national trend. As of August, the department is down about 300 officers. Just last month alone, 50 officers left the department, with only eight to 10 recruits ready to fill the gaps.
McCray said she is "hopeful" the new DA will take a more aggressive approach to crime but acknowledges that the crisis will not be solved overnight. She said an 11-year-old arrested for violently robbing an elderly Asian woman in the city will likely be given a pass and will commit more crimes.
"This is why people hate politicians… they say one thing coming out the side of their, you know what. And then they do something that's the opposite, all because they want to stay in power because elections are coming out."
McCray concluded that politicians in her city need to either back their words up with actions or not speak at all.
"I feel like I'm in a battered relationship with a bunch of these politicians in our city," she said. "Make up your mind if you want us to do our job and give us the tools to do it. Or you know what? Shut up. Go back in your office and close the door because you're not helping."
Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report
