Oakland's Democratic mayor Libby Schaaf admits defund the police went 'too far' just months after bloody Thanksgiving crime wave forced her to reverse course on budget cuts

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said Thursday efforts to defund her city's police department went 'too far,' after it saw crime surge to levels not seen in 15 years

Democrat Schaaf told Politico her city needs to address the 'root causes' of rising crime, after she scrapped the anti-cop campaign in December

'I think it was a correction to the 'defund' conversation... I personally think went too far and got convoluted,' Schaaf, who once championed the movement, said

Cops recorded 134 murders in 2021 - nearly double the 78 seen in 2019, before the 'defund' movement began - as well as nearly 7000 violent crimes

The increase alarmed Schaaf, she said, spurring the politician to implement a proposal in December that scrapped funding cuts to Oakland police

By ALEX HAMMER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

The mayor of one of California's most crime-ridden cities said Thursday that efforts to defund her city's police department went 'too far' after it saw violent crime surge to levels not seen in 15 years following the movement's introduction in the summer of 2020.  

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf asserted to Politico in a sit-down interview that her city urgently needs to address the 'root causes' of rising crime, mere months after the Democrat pulled an abrupt about-face on the anti-cop campaign at the end of last year after seeing murders and violent crimes surge to concerning levels.

'I think it was a correction to the "defund" conversation, which I personally think went too far and got convoluted,' Schaaf, a Democrat who previously championed the movement, told Politico.

'I think everyone agrees we need to invest far more into prevention, into the root causes of crime, and particularly into our mental health system, which is completely failing us, both when you look at crime as well as homelessness,' Schaaf said.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said her city needs to address the 'root causes' of rising crime and homeless numbers, mere months after the Democrat pulled an about-face on the anti-cop campaign at the end of last year, after seeing murders and violent crimes surge in 2021

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said her city needs to address the 'root causes' of rising crime and homeless numbers, mere months after the Democrat pulled an about-face on the anti-cop campaign at the end of last year, after seeing murders and violent crimes surge in 2021

The city, located a stone's throw from San Francisco - which is struggling with its own surge in violent crime - recorded 134 murders in 2021, nearly double the 78 that came two years before in 2019. Oakland also recorded nearly 7000 violent crimes last year, with many coming in a bloody crime wave around Thanksgiving.

Among the dead were retired police officer and father of two Kevin Nishita, as well as a 1-year-old boy hit by a stray bullet as he sat in the back of his mother's car. Both killings occurred in broad daylight. 

The concerning increase alarmed Schaaf, she said, spurring the city to implement a proposal in December to add two new police academies, unfreeze positions within the department and employ 60 new officers.

The move was an abrupt reversal to a decision by the city council last June that would have slashed $18.5 million from the Oakland Police Department's budget, a move criticized by Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong, who said at the time that 'crime is out of control' in the city. 

The city, located a stone's throw from similarly crime-ridden San Francisco, recorded 134 murders in 2021 - nearly double the 78 that came two years before in 2019, before the movement began

The city, located a stone's throw from similarly crime-ridden San Francisco, recorded 134 murders in 2021 - nearly double the 78 that came two years before in 2019, before the movement began

'There is a clear problem in this city,' Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said late last year, addressing the wave of violent crime and rising murder rates.

'There is a clear problem in this city,' Oakland police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said late last year, addressing the wave of violent crime and rising murder rates.