Contra Costa Grand Jury Says Richmond Police Stayed Understaffed After $3 Million Budget Cut
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 20
Contra Costa Grand Jury Says Richmond Police Stayed Understaffed After $3 Million Budget Cut
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 20
Summary
A May 2025 Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury report found Richmond Police has been understaffed since the city diverted $3 million from the department in 2021.
The cut followed a June 2020 vote to create a Reimagining Public Safety task force and a June 2021 council decision to shift part of the police budget to its recommendations.
Former Mayor Tom Butt and former mayoral candidate Mark Wassberg said Richmond's progressive leadership has been hostile to police, while resident Stephen London said the city still feels safe despite calling the defund push "ridiculous."
Richmond's policing fight sits inside a broader debate over the Richmond Progressive Alliance, whose backers cast the city as a grassroots model and critics call it a long-running test case for democratic socialist governance.