Guillermo Cespedes

Guillermo Cespedes

Guillermo Cespedes is the Chief of Violence Prevention for the City of Oakland, California. He oversees the City’s Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), created by the City Council to better align, amplify, and elevate Oakland’s violence prevention efforts. In 2009, he was appointed Deputy Mayor/director of the Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development. In that role Guillermo co-authored the citywide comprehensive strategy to reduce group-related violence and led the city in establishing evidence-based diagnostics and rigorous evaluations of its efforts. In 2016, Guillermo moved to Honduras to guide the implementation of a family systems-based violence prevention program funded by USAID. He has adapted a similar family systems-based approach to violence prevention in Tunisia, North Africa; El Salvador, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Guyana.
  • Articles: 2

Public Security is more than ‘Law and Order’

During the raucous first presidential debate of 2020, President Trump challenged former Vice-President Joe Biden to say the words “law and order” as part of the discussion on Race and Violence in Our Cities. This tactic was meant to show Biden as somehow soft on public safety. Biden said more than the words; he also strongly expressed support for police officers and opposing violence.

La Seguridad Ciudadana es mas que el ‘Orden Público’

Durante el bronco primer debate presidencial de 2020, el presidente Trump instó al ex vicepresidente Joe Biden a pronunciar las palabras “ley y orden” dentro del debate sobre raza y violencia en las ciudades de EE.UU. Esta táctica tenía por objeto presentar a Biden como un blando en materia de seguridad ciudadana. Biden fue incluso más allá al expresar su apoyo incondicional a las fuerzas del orden público y denunciar la violencia.