How Richmond Went From Murder Capital To Progressive Success Story

When you think of Richmond, California, what do you think of? Most people think of violent crime, poverty and pollution. But there’s a lot more to the City of ‘Pride and Purpose’ than negative headlines. 

In the last 10 years, Richmond’s reduction in homicides and other violent crimes is nothing short of miraculous.

So, how did it happen? 

I remember when I was a kid, I had moved from Oakland to Contra Costa County, and in every community or area, there was always that one place that everyone unanimously agreed was a place you didn’t go to if you could avoid it. In Oakland, it was the Deep East and in Contra Costa County, it was Richmond. 

Back in those days, Richmond’s homicide rate regularly surpassed Oakland’s, and in 2009, Richmond had the second highest homicide rate in the United States with 47 murders in a city of roughly 100k residents. 

Richmond wasn’t the only city that suffered from violent crime. San Francisco, Oakland, Vallejo and Antioch were regularly in the news for violence. What makes Richmond different is how the city decided to deal with it. 

San Francisco and Oakland issued numerous gang injunctions in crime hot spots which made it illegal to stand in groups or walk around your neighborhood if you were a suspected gang member. But in reality, the police suspected every young person of color in high crime neighborhoods of being in a gang, so they used the injunctions as an excuse to harass people. 

Vallejo and Antioch, both similar to Richmond in population size and demography, are both in the news for various police brutality cases. Vallejo’s police brutality problem became so well known it was even the subject of a Vice documentary. The Vallejo cops literally had a secret murder cult, and Antioch’s Police Department is currently embroiled in a scandal implicating half of the police department in text messages that detail abuse of power, with several officers using racial slurs to describe black and brown people. 

Richmond went the other way, and a lot of it has to do with an organization called the Richmond Progressive Alliance and an initiative called the Office of Neighborhood Safety. 

In 2004, the RPA emerged in Richmond, led by Gayle McLaughlin and Andres Soto. Gayle got elected to the city council and eventually was elected mayor. Not long after Gayle’s Victory, other RPA members got elected to City Council, and in 2007 the Office of Neighborhood Safety was established. This was at a time when Richmond suffered 47 homicides per 100k residents. To put that number in perspective, Oakland had 30 homicides per 100k and Chicago had 16 homicides per 100k residents. 

So what did the ONS do? Did they bash in the doors of suspected criminals and send them to jail? Did they lock up people for walking down the street? No. They identified “high risk” individuals. High risk meaning they were suspected of a violent crime, but police lacked the evidence to arrest or they were involved in social circles that had been exposed to violence. Instead of demonizing them or sending police to arrest them, they sent mentors to help them transition from street life into the real world. These people were financially compensated for their participation in the program, because as anyone who isn’t an idiot understands, crime is fueled by poverty, anything that alleviates poverty and provides opportunity will reduce violent crime.

The success of the program wasn’t overnight. Richmond suffered another 47 murders in 2009 after the program was launched, but has seen extreme reductions in violent crime since that unfortunate peak. Right wing media regularly poked fun at Richmond for “paying people not to kill each other,” despite the media ridicule, several other cities have mimicked Richmond’s approach because of its success, including San Francisco. 

Fast forward to today, and Richmond has elected RPA member, Eduardo Martinez to mayor. Mayor Martinez has built upon the progress of the RPA and ONS to get Richmond to where it is today: safe. 

I mean actually safe. Richmond is on track to have a homicide rate LOWER than the national average this year. And that’s not because the city has a bloated police department. RPD is currently understaffed. Nor is that due to gentrification. While prices have risen regionally, Richmond is still a minority-majority, blue collar city. Trendy coffee shops are nowhere to be found in downtown Richmond. You will find them in Point Richmond, but Point Richmond has been rich since forever.

What’s the moral of the story? You can’t police your way out of violent crime. Oakland and SF are trying that. It’s failing. You show people that a way out is possible, you improve material conditions and teach skills that are in demand so they can fend for themselves, and that’s what Richmond is doing. 

Good job. 

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