Oakland's rise in gun violence prompted Mayor Libby Schaaf last week to ask the city council to reverse scheduled funding cuts and hire more police officers — a request it approved Tuesday night.
Oakland is not the only city facing a jump in homicides: The murder rate surged across the country last year amid the pandemic, and is on track this year to be at least as bad.
That's a tough time to reduce the number of police on the street.
Of course, adding more police shouldn't be the only approach to preventing violence in our communities, which is why we also need robust funding for violence prevention, job training and mental health programs.
Surely in a region as wealthy as the Bay Area, we shouldn't have to choose between hiring good cops and investing in the community.