Previous Campaigns
Time For the Nine
The City of Davis went through a reimagining of public safety in 2020 and 2021. Yolo People Power as well as Yolo DSA, UAW2865 and dedicated commissioners and community members created 9 recommendations on how to improve real public safety in Davis. Click here to learn about the 9 recommendations of the Joint Subcommittee on Public Safety.
Davis City Council unanimously voted to approve 3 years of funding for the Yolo County Crisis Now model that will provide unarmed mental health responders for those in crisis, a crisis hotline, and a receiving center. Davis City Council also unanimously voted to form a new Department of Social Services and Housing!
The Department will be in charge of:
- Homeless Outreach
- Affordable Housing
- Public Safety Data Analysis
- Cross-department Code Enforcement Management and Coordination
- Coordination with Existing Social Services and Programs including Crisis Now
Key areas missing from the new department are parking and traffic enforcement, which will remain in the police department. Council cited logistical and legal barriers as the reason for this. After hearing pushback from many of the 36 public commenters, Councilmembers expressed openness to considering including parking enforcement and to working with other municipalities or state lawmakers to remove legal barriers in the future. YPP is currently researching traffic enforcement recommendations.
Although not perfect, this is a monumental step that would not have been possible without every person involved in the process. Thank you all for signing the open letter, leaving public comments at meetings, sending emails, and showing up to marches and events.
Department of Public Safety
One of the primary recommendations unanimously recommended by the Joint Subcommittee on Public Safety, the Davis Social Services Commission, the Davis Human Relations Commission, and the Davis Police Accountability Commission is to create a Department of Public Safety that is based on a health-care model vs. a punitive, law-enforcement model. An open letter to City Council that requests this change is available for residents of Davis to sign.
Picnic Day 5
The “Picnic Day 5” incident occurred in Davis when three undercover police officers got into a fight with five people of color who were walking amidst the crowds on Russell Boulevard during Picnic Day. A misleading press release was issued by the police department followed by the youths being charged with assaulting officers. That incident ignited interest in how the story was being presented to the public and soon other stories of excessive force by the Davis Police Department emerged. This galvanized YPP to address issues of policing and criminal justice reform.
Advocate For Structural Change
YPP researched and organized campaigns to adopt one of the first surveillance ordinances in the country, to create a Police Accountability Commission, and to redefine the roles and responsibilities of the police department’s Independent Police Auditor to include access to personnel files and public reporting.