Swastika in Vacaville

Have you seen the new swastika painted in black on a Browns Valley sidewalk mailbox?

Even though the Vacaville Police Department was notified of that graffiti, the department affirmed that the swastika graffiti was out of their jurisdiction in terms of investigation. Although legally correct, there is something the PD could do about it.

When either a misdemeanor or felony crime occurs outside a police jurisdiction, the police report it to the appropriate agency authorities for their investigative action. The Vacaville PD should have reported the hate-based graffiti to the U.S. Postal Service investigators and offer to assist the postal service with their investigation.

There must be a change in the Vacaville Police Department’s policy with incidents bearing obvious hate symbols and racial profiles in the public domain. The citizens of Vacaville must not allow white supremacists, Nazis, and other racists to continue to operate freely in our community. Every hate crime must be investigated, with perpetrators arrested and prosecuted. All of us must strive to make every resident of our city feel safe.

What changes will the Vacaville Police Department make so that these racially biased incidents are not ignored in the future? How will the Vacaville City Council direct such a police department policy?

An apology to the residents of Vacaville by the Vacaville Police Department for their failure to act on this hate crime will help all of us feel a little safer in Vacaville.

— James Hardwick/Vacaville