De León has gone hard after Jurado on public safety by attempting to tie her to some of her most outspoken — and politically left — endorsers. He zeroed in on her relationship with Democratic Socialists of America, which has called in recent years for the defunding of the LAPD and the abolition of police overall.
Appearing at a candidate forum in El Sereno, De León accused Jurado of identifying herself as an “abolitionist” — a supporter of eliminating police. De León called that approach to public safety “reckless,” saying the city needs more officers to combat crime.
Jurado has responded by saying instead that the city needs to invest more in youth programs, street lighting and sidewalk repairs. In a statement to The Times, Jurado said that the city’s approach to public safety “isn’t working.”
“Right now, the LAPD receives more than a quarter of our city’s budget, but we’re not seeing the results we need,” she said. “Los Angeles is facing a massive financial crisis, and we have to ask ourselves: Are we getting the best return on our investment?”
Jurado says district residents “feel less safe than ever.” She has called for the LAPD to be “drastically re-imagined,” with money shifted out of the department and into other programs, such as affordable housing, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment. She also wants traffic enforcement duties to be taken away from police and turned over to unarmed city employees.
During the primary campaign, Jurado said she would have voted against Mayor Karen Bass’ first budget, which called for the hiring of 1,000 police officers. She opposed the package of pay raises that Bass negotiated with the city’s rank-and-file officers, calling the deal — which will add $1 billion in additional costs over four years — financially irresponsible.
De León supports the mayor’s goal of restoring the LAPD to 9,500 officers, saying more officers are needed to address crime. He also voted for the package of police raises, saying those increases are needed to keep officers from taking jobs at other law enforcement agencies.
The department currently has fewer than 8,800 officers, down from about 10,000 five years ago.
“The number of LAPD officers is already dangerously low,” he said in an interview. “It’s a threat to our collective public safety, and we need a path forward to boost our numbers.”
