SAN ANTONIO — There's a push for more police in San Antonio amid the surge in violence. We've seen at least eight shootings this week.
District 8 Councilman, Manny Pelaez, thinks the fix is more officers. He believes as the city grows, so should its police force.
For five years in a row, San Antonio's number of police officers has increased, according to Pelaez. However, it's a pace that's falling behind the city's booming population.
"They're bringing their cars causing more traffic, and they're bringing their problems causing more crime," said Pelaez. "We're the seventh largest city in the United States and we have large city problems."
The rush of new San Antonio residents isn't stopping any time soon. District 8 is seeing the most people moving in.
"As cities' footprints geographically expand, you have to match that expansion with the right amount of police officers on the street," he explained. "Making sure there's a certain amount of police officers per, let's say, every 1,000 new residents."
Councilman Manny Pelaez says San Antonians are asking for more police presence. The more officers on patrol, he says, will help with crime rates.
"More police officers doesn't necessarily mean that there won't be shootings and there won't be domestic violence cases," said Pelaez. "What it will mean is that you will have very quick response time, then you'll have safer neighborhoods."
More police means more money, which would have to be provided during the current city budget.
But not everyone wants more officers.
"I think it's maybe time to try something new," said Valerie Reiffert, Executive Director of the non-profit Radical Registrars.
Reiffert believes adding more community resources will cut down on crime.
"Communities like Alamo Heights, The Dominion, Stone Oak, they're not the safest because of a bunch of police out there all the time," said Reiffert. "They're the safest because of the access and the ability to obtain the resources that they need."
She says putting food in food deserts, jobs where we need them and fueling community resources would help the most.
"There's just been research that has shown that more police in areas and communities does not equal more safety," she explained. "It actually causes more trouble, especially in communities of color."
Councilman Pelaez says this uptick in crime isn't just a matter of policing. It's a matter of our own behavior too.
"The street crime that we're seeing is, for the most part, related to people making some incredibly stupid choices after midnight," he said. "A lot of these crimes aren't just random street crimes. They're related to domestic violence."
Pelaez said he supports adding funding for police, while increasing other community services at the same time.
"It's not a matter of you have to defund police to fund other things, you can do both."
Other San Antonio city councilmembers are taking action, adding more street lights to neighborhoods that need them and pushing for a research team to study the root cause of crime where we live.