Crime is on the rise. Antioch should stop sweeping this under the rug

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As usual, the majority of the Antioch City Council falls asleep when it comes to the impact of crime on the population of the City of Antioch.

Antioch police data shows for the first seven months of the year that crime is up compared to 2023 in all the categories most people care about – murder, robbery, burglary, auto theft and assault. Over 1,000 auto thefts this year? Homicides are now in the double digits? That's outrageous!

The majority response of the mayor in the city council Lamar Hernandez Thorpe, Tamisha Torres Walker And Monica Wilson…like a rabbit in the headlights, and they have no idea and don't seem to care!

Here's the data. And let's face it, aside from murder, these crimes are probably underreported, but here are the crimes reported by the APD:

Most people will justify the higher crime rate by citing the number of police officers. You can see for yourself why there are only 76 officers. But in my opinion, it's a question of culture. Who in their right mind would want to work for a police department under the incumbent mayor and the majority city council? Not many, and it shows.

Sure, many will scream police texting, which is the low-hanging fruit response started by the Pittsburg Police Department, but once Lamar Hernandez Thorpe, Tamisha Torres Walker were elected, and Monica Wilson Re-elected, officers actually began leaving the police force when they were attacked during the Black Lives Matter movement – and they protected the criminal mentality over consideration for victims. The texting scandal only exacerbated the recruitment/retention problem even more.

And I don't even have to go into the grand jury report, drunk driving, sexual harassment, shootings outside council members' homes, sideshow attendance, or the machinations with the district attorney to explain why Antioch has a hiring problem. The city council should be ashamed of the culture it has created and indeed embraced. And people really wonder why crime is so high and the city as a whole has four times the number of vacancies than the state average?

Worse, the majority council has sabotaged its police department through the tactic of cutting police funding, which has only hurt residents, businesses, and even the school district. Everything has been a struggle – especially for the council members Michael Barbanica Aand Lori Ogorchock:

• Antioch School's liaison officer grant was revoked – essentially, six officers were laid off.
• Barbanica made six requests for body cameras – and yet his request for more modern tasers was rejected.
• The sideshow regulation lasted two years
• The Antioch Crime Commission was abolished – along with the Neighborhood Watch Program
• The Emergency Operations Center received 7 requests from Barbanica
• Antioch Police Department Replacement Vehicles
• Purchase of training ammunition
• A “fake” Antioch Police Oversight Commission was established

To Antioch's credit, it has tried to hire and recruit new officers, but it has not been successful – even with a $30,000 bonus. It is simply the fault of the City Council, which has set the tone of the city and a culture of anti-police rhetoric. Ultimately, the majority council refuses to look in the mirror and recognize that they are the problem and have been from day one – the Contra Costa County Grand Jury agrees!

It is frustrating to see – and I know others feel this way too – that Hernandez-Thorpe and Chief Brian Addington continue to claim that Antioch has hired officers and there are people in the academy – while that may be true and is a good PR move, it is just empty words because results are lacking.

What good is HR pushing a time- and cost-intensive process if people don't complete it or make it through? Hired officers go through the academy, then a 16-week FTO program, followed by an 18-month probationary period. Why do people fail? Why don't they complete the program? Why doesn't Antioch increase its staff?

Based on previous news reports, here is a breakdown of Antioch Police Department personnel levels over the past few years.

• 17 December 2019 – 112 officials
• May 6, 2020 – 115 officers (fully staffed)
• November 2020 – Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, Tamisha Torres-Walker and Monica Wilson form the council majority and begin implementing police reforms
• August 29, 2022 – 101 officers (72 on full-time duty, 38 on patrol)
• Sept. 2022 – Antioch approves $30,000 bonus program for officers
• Oct. 11, 2022 – 102 officers (76 in full-time service)
• March 2023 – Antioch texting scandal breaks out. City Council did not wait for investigations to be completed before attacking APD. (Officers were charged in August)
  
• September 25, 2023 – 95 officers (44 active, 31 on patrol)
• February 2, 2024 – 95 officers (44 active, 31 on patrol)
• March 8, 2024 – 85 officers (55 actively sworn, 38 on patrol)
• July 1, 2024 – 76 officers (59 active, 44 on patrol)

Through understaffing, moral concerns and a lack of accountability, the City Council majority has created an environment that will likely set the unfortunate record of the highest crime rate in the last decade – unless things change in the second half of the year.

Ultimately, the mayor can blame “bloggers,” other media outlets, and “old Antioch” all he wants, but the data is what it is – ask AMTRAK about safety. Also, the Antioch City Council has contributed to more crime in Antioch than this “blogger.” But I digress.

It's time for the community to stop tolerating this behavior, stop putting up with this kind of criminality, and start getting involved again. Demand better! Call out stupidity. Stop shouting down the rhetoric of cancel culture and instead partner with others, like nonprofits and faith-based organizations, and find people to help you find results-oriented solutions that work for everyone.

Michael Burkholder
Editor of ContraCosta.news
[email protected]