Alex Villanueva is playing today for the position of Los Angeles County Sheriff – the largest in the entire country, with almost 10 million inhabitants – against his adversary, Robert Luna. Villanueva is the first Democrat in office in 138 years, but he doesn't get along with Joe Biden's party. And although he is considered closer to the Republicans, he distances himself from the leaders of all formations: "If you leave the politicians in charge of security, the police run out of funds and the rogues take over the streets", he says in a phone interview.
Has Biden done enough in fighting crime?
No. He has put progressive district attorneys who don't get the job done on the front lines of prosecuting crime. The president and his party, with their so-called progressive reform, are causing anarchy. They say they are redesigning public security, but they do not listen to the opinion of the people. Additionally, local Democrats are ignoring Biden on increased police resources and keeping police on the street at a minimum.
Why has crime increased in the US after the pandemic?
There is more than one reason. First is the increase in cases of mental illness. There is a lack of resources to offer treatment and that encourages the war between drug gangs to sell more drugs and control the streets. And the impression is growing that the police are overwhelmed, which further encourages criminals. It is a whiting that bites its tail.
You have been accused of tolerating police ill-treatment.
All the agents denounced for excessive use of force have been brought before the Prosecutor's Office and even the FBI.
The frequency of shootings in this country is staggering. And also the cases of unjustified shooting by the police...
In our county we have an average of 31 shootings a year. But the number of police contacts with civilians is 2.5 million. And the average of excessive or criminal shootings by the police does not exceed a dozen in the entire country, a year. Many times the police do not know if the person they are facing is armed. When in doubt, the decision is not easy. If the case is not clear, it is brought to the prosecutor for investigation.
Many believe that the United States may experience another civil war. You believe it?
It is easy for activists who want to foment divisions to look for and find cracks in our structures and amplify differences. But the people who live on the streets who are not breathing politics 24 hours a day see their neighbors as people who, like them, are trying to earn their bread and prosper, regardless of whether they are Democrats or Republicans. We should all focus more on what we have in common.
