(SACRAMENTO, CA.) — As Sacramento city leaders marked Gun Violence Awareness Month this week by highlighting declining crime trends and recognizing violence-prevention organizations, a series of emotional public comments revealed a starkly different perspective from some residents who say violence remains a daily reality in their communities.
During the June 16 Sacramento City Council meeting, residents, community advocates and victims' family members challenged the city's narrative of progress, arguing that official statistics do not fully capture the fear, trauma and safety concerns they continue to experience in neighborhoods, parks and schools.
(Councilmember Lisa Kaplan delivers remarks recognizing Gun Violence Awareness Month before residents challenged the city’s narrative on declining gun violence. Credit: Metro Cable 14 YouTube video.)
“Every year, the devastating impact of gun violence tears through communities and families,” Councilmember Lisa Kaplan said. “Nobody is left untouched.”
The comments came after council members received presentations recognizing community-based organizations and discussing ongoing efforts to reduce gun violence throughout the city.
"Gun violence — you show stats that says it is reduced. It is more common today," said Allegra Taylor, chief executive officer of The Village Advocates. "We don't want it to become the norm, which is becoming the norm and nowhere is safe."
Taylor told council members that her organization recently canceled a community park engagement event because of safety concerns.
"The pool in an apartment is not safe. We have got parks that are not safe," Taylor said. "We had to cancel our park engagement this year because it is not safe."
She urged city leaders to invest more heavily in addressing underlying social issues that contribute to violence.
"You might need to invest money into social workers to put in your district to find out what is happening in homes to cause children to run amok," she said.
Another speaker, Demarcus Winston, described what he said was a violent assault at Willie Caston Park, while he was playing basketball with family members. According to Winston, a group of nine masked youths attacked him, beat him to the ground and robbed him at gunpoint.
"One of the males had the gun to my chest and wanted to take my life for valuables," Winston told the council.
Winston said videos of the incident were later shared on social media and expressed frustration that he had not received answers about the status of the case.
"There hasn't been no justice," Winston said. "I was wondering what happened to protecting your citizens of California in Sacramento?"
Mayor Kevin McCarthy asked Winston, which park was involved and directed city staff to follow up on his concerns.
Several speakers also used the meeting to raise concerns about what they described as a lack of city support for grassroots violence-prevention organizations.
Timothy Pool, chief executive officer of Hooked on Fish and Not on Violence, questioned why community-based groups often struggle to secure funding despite years of neighborhood outreach.
"What I don't see is our officials coming into our neighborhoods without happen to have an agenda," Pool said. "I've been watching that for 15 years."
Pool argued that many organizations working directly with at-risk youth and families receive little recognition or financial support.
"The reason I'm up here, I want to know why is it so hard for us to get funding?" he said. “I want to know why it's so hard to see you in the spaces that we're in. I see you. Some of you I see a lot of the time, and it's good to see you where you’re at…But I need to see you on the front line with us — I really do. Because it is rough in Sacramento. You all know that. And I've been fighting the good fight.”
Marvel Wilson Jr., founder of the Men Accountable Project, echoed those frustrations.
"You just acknowledged a whole bunch of organizations that work with youth," Wilson told council members. "You didn't mention Hooked on Fishing, Not on Violence."
Wilson called for greater recognition and structural support for organizations that he said have long served Sacramento neighborhoods.
“I’m curious to know whether you haven’t recognized the work that’s been done, or if you have and it was just an omission. Either way, it’s fair to ask again,” Wilson replied. “What would it take for this organization to get some support—financial support, or some kind of structural support and acknowledgment? This organization has done quite well, representing what so many other organizations have been in place to do. It’s only fair that I propose to you that we want to get this onto the agenda. And if you share with me what the course of action is to get it to your vote, I would appreciate that.”
Even speakers who praised the city's violence-prevention efforts acknowledged that significant challenges remain.
Ray Lozada, director of the Office of Safe Schools for the Sacramento City Unified School District and a retired probation officer, said youth involvement in gun violence continues to be a major concern.
"It is problematic more so because we see school-aged students falling on either side of the gun — shooting or being killed," Lozada said. "It is just happening so frequently and I think it is a call to action for us to start working together."
Lozada said schools, law enforcement agencies, community organizations and city officials are working to improve coordination and intervention efforts aimed at preventing youth violence.
City, Police Point to Declining Crime Trends
While residents described ongoing safety concerns, Sacramento police officials say crime data shows improvement across several major categories. In an emailed statement provided to OpGov News, the Sacramento Police Department said preliminary data indicates:
Homicides decreased nearly 7% compared with 2024.
Reported rapes decreased more than 5%.
Larceny and theft incidents declined more than 11%.
Aggravated assaults and robberies also decreased compared with the previous year.
Police officials attributed the reductions to a combination of enforcement, violence-prevention initiatives and targeted deployment strategies.
"Our patrol officers, investigators, and Violent Crime Reduction Teams continue to work collaboratively to address violent crime throughout the City of Sacramento," the department said in an email to OpGov.news. "We are fortunate to have an Office of Violence Prevention that works closely with community-based organizations to disrupt and interrupt violence, specifically with our youth."
The department also noted that crime-reduction efforts have continued despite Sacramento's growing population and said officers are regularly reassigned to locations and time periods where crime data shows a higher likelihood of criminal activity.
Police officials directed residents seeking neighborhood-specific crime data to the city's public Open Data Portal, which contains crime reports and calls-for-service information dating back multiple years.
The emotional testimony highlighted a challenge often faced by local governments: balancing statistical improvements with residents' lived experiences.
For many speakers, the question was not whether violence-prevention efforts are occurring, but whether those efforts are producing noticeable improvements in the neighborhoods where violence continues to affect daily life.
The contrast was evident throughout the meeting, as city leaders celebrated progress, while residents described ongoing fear, trauma, and frustration.
As the meeting concluded, council members took no formal action on the public comments, although several indicated staff would follow up on specific concerns raised during testimony.
Note to readers: OpGov.news reached out to the City of Sacramento and Councilmember Lisa Kaplan for additional information on youth‑related violence. Neither responded to our request by the time of publication.
If you’d like to add or correct anything in this report, feel free to reach out to me or leave a comment below. Submit Sacramento County tips and story ideas to Sarah Denos at sarahkdenos@gmail.com.
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