Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin
Email address for Mayor Arreguin:
mayor@cityofberkeley.info
Remember to make some changes & put this in your own voice! Also be sure to add your name at the end before sending.
Subject: Please do more to make Berkeley safe
Dear Mayor Arreguin,
I am writing to you as a concerned parent of a student at UC Berkeley, and I am deeply troubled by the recent incidents of violent crime that have taken place around the campus. As you may recall, you promised parents last year, after the shooting on Telegraph, that safety around the campus was your “top priority.”
Unfortunately, not much has been done since then to keep students safe from violent crime.
It is alarming to hear about students being robbed, assaulted, and held up at gunpoint around the UC Berkeley campus. Last year, 3 people were shot and one man died as a result of gunfire around the South Side dorms. I urge you to do more to keep students at UC Berkeley safe from violent crime. Students are a vital part of the Berkeley community, and they should be able to study, work, and live in a safe and secure environment. It is your responsibility to fulfill your promise to parents and take action to enhance public safety in Berkeley.
I understand that the Berkeley Police Department has been asking for permission to use more technology to deter and fight crime— drones, license plate readers, intersection cameras, and more. I hope you will strongly support their request and use your considerable influence to sway others on the City Council to do the same.
Mayor Arreguin, you are putting your legacy at risk by failing to do more to keep students safe. Will you really end your term in office having seen crime continue to rise in Berkeley when you could have done more to prevent it?
Parents, business owners, and other groups around Berkeley are very displeased with all the excuses we’re hearing about why you can’t do more to protect public safety. We are going to continue speaking up loudly at City Council meetings and will take other steps to increase pressure until we feel that you are taking our concerns seriously.
I urge you to act now before another tragedy occurs on the UC Berkeley campus. Parents deserve to know that their children are safe, and we are counting on you to make that happen.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]