Vallejo residents share safety concerns at police reform meeting as leaders respond to recent crime
VALLEJO, Calif. (KGO) -- Hundreds of people showed up Monday night to voice their concerns about public safety and police reform in Vallejo.
We learned Monday that officers will be teaming up with the California Highway Patrol in an attempt to crack down on sideshows and reckless drivers.
The move comes after a massive sideshow over the weekend and several recent shootings.
"Well I still don't feel safe," one woman said at the community meeting.
There was anger amongst Vallejo residents who showed up to hear from the police department's Evaluation Team. The team is an outside state group that overseas the implementation of reforms among the police department.
"Implementation is not happening. A lot of talk, a lot of this is what we're going to do and you guys go home and at the end of the day we're still dealing with it," that same woman said.
MORE: Vallejo shootings of 4 year old, 2 Cal Maritime students and food truck worker put residents on edge
"Nothing has changed," another person said.
Tonya Johnson explained to ABC7 what some of her concerns are.
"Crime, car break-ins, robbery, mugging and all the other things going on in Vallejo. Vallejo is a beautiful city, I love Vallejo but it has to get better," Johnson said.
Debra Kirby clarified her role as evaluator and spoke about the importance of implementing policies to help better connect officers with the community.
"We're working on the two largest issues facing any police agency across America: use of force practices, personnel complaints," Kirby said.
"It's so important that we implement these reforms to rebuild trust in the community so that we can attract and retain officers that will practice good policing and rebuild the staffing in the department," Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce said.
Despite the tension and anger among many at the meeting, the evaluator and at least one business owner say there have been improvements.
"To give kudos where it's needed for the Vallejo Police Department because I've had some interactions with them and they turned positive very fast," said Clarence Martin who owns Community Tow Company.
MORE: Community leaders demand action after 4-year-old girl critically injured in Vallejo shootout
"We learned today and it was validated that you haven't had an officer-involved shooting in 2024 so safety is a relative issue," Kirby said.
But with the recent homicides and other crimes, many are concerned about their safety and getting any sort of response when they call police.
Solano County District 2 Supervisor Monica Brown told ABC7 that more officers would be the key to that.
"We do not have enough officers but we need to have a trust, right now there is no trust," Brown said.
But the question remains: will Vallejo be a safer place at the end of the five-year Evaluator monitoring program?
"Safety I cannot guarantee, but I would think so yes. You have a chief who is committed to ensuring the necessary policy change for its officers. I think that translates to a better community safety overall," Kirby said.
