OakTalk

Come to Tonight’s City Council Meeting – But Then Keep Coming Back

Oaklanders who follow City Hall know that four public safety proposals are coming before the City Council tonight at its 5:30 meeting, as Council decides whether to:

Authorize a temporary contract with the Alameda Sheriff’s Department to borrow ten deputies and a sergeant for two days per week;
Add twenty police service technicians and one crime lab position;
Remove conditions for holding a police academy in September, 2013 and begin the processes to hold that academy; and
Amend the city’s public safety consulting contract with Strategic Policy Partnership to allow Robert Wasserman of that agency, together with other consultants, to put in place a short term crime-fighting strategy and a long-term Citywide crime reduction and Community Safety Plan.

(more…)

3 Comments

January 22, 2013

City Council / Public Safety

Why The Bratton / Wasserman Proposal Should Be Adopted By Oakland’s City Council

Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, Oakland City Council’s Public Safety Committee will vote on whether to forward to Council a proposal to add $250,000 to the City’s public safety consulting contract with Strategic Policy Partnership. This is the Robert Wasserman, Chief William Bratton proposal that we discussed here. We strongly encourage Oaklanders to come and support this proposal.

The proposal is starting to run into opposition based on two arguments that either misstate or misunderstand what the proposal is: The first argument goes something like this: Oakland has already spent, is already spending or going to spend millions on outside Occupy investigators, on a a Federal Court monitor, on a Compliance Director, why do we have to spend money on this as well?
(more…)

6 Comments

January 14, 2013

Political Action / Public Safety

Learn More About The Upcoming Public Safety Proposals — Then Come Out And Support Them

Just about everyone in Oakland and in Oakland City Government says “public safety is our number one priority.” If we mean it, we are going to have to take big steps and bring big change. Among other things, this means finding cost-effective ways to grow the Oakland Police Department to a sworn staffing level of 900. And it means having a comprehensive public safety program.

But while we are getting there, we also need to support the smaller measures that can make a difference. Three of those are the proposals by Council Members Schaff (D4) and Reid (D7) to borrow Sheriff’s Department officers, hire civilian technicians and lock in a second police academy for Calendar year 2013.

(more…)

6 Comments

January 10, 2013

Public Safety

Is Chief Bratton The Answer For Oakland?

Oakland is bringing in William Bratton as a public safety consultant. Bratton made his name nationally as New York City police commissioner. During and after his tenure, New York significantly increased police staffing and experienced an unprecedented—and continuing—reduction in violent crime. After New York, Bratton came to Los Angeles, first as part of the federal monitoring team for its consent judgment (similar to Oakland’s NSA), and then as chief. In his 8 ½ years with LAPD, Los Angeles reduced homicides 41%, reduced violent crime 45,% and came out from under Federal Court supervision.

MOBN! representatives recently joined community leaders in a meeting with Oakland’s policing consultant Robert Wasserman, during which he announced the plan for Bratton’s involvement, described Oakland’s public safety situation as “the most difficult and complex policing challenge in the United States” and discussed long and short term strategies. Here’s MOBN!’s take:

Oakland’s violent crime rate has now gone beyond crisis and reached emergency levels. Oaklanders cannot expect that any one individual or quick solution is going to turn things around.

(more…)

14 Comments

January 2, 2013

City Budget / Public Safety

What Will It Take To Restore The Oakland Police Department?

As we explained last month, all four City Council members elected in the most recent election have adopted the MOBN! position that rebuilding the City’s police department is the City’s highest priority. Last month, City Council Members Larry Reid and Libby Schaaf proposed three public safety measures, including one that Council confirm a police academy conditionally budgeted for June, 2013.

MOBN! supports all three measures, including the academy confirmation, the use of Alameda County Sherriff’s deputies and the hiring of civilian technicians. But even if these proposals are adopted, the City’s current course will not restore the department in the near future. Here’s why:
(more…)

23 Comments

December 20, 2012

Cease Fire / Public Safety

Oakland Project Ceasefire Update

Members of the MOBN! board recently met with Oakland’s Project Ceasefire team for a progress update. While the project is moving slowly, it is moving in the right direction. We are pleased with the team’s care, thought and implementation, with one reservation: the project still needs a full-time manager to devote his or her full attention to this important project. Team members also see this need. At the City Council Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday, December 11 at 5:30, they will be asking for an allocation of Measure Y reserve funds for a full-time manager. MOBN! will be attending the meeting to urge that the committee recommend, and Council ultimately approve, the dedicated management everyone in the Cease Fire process agrees is essential. We’ve also expressed our views in this letter to the Committee.

MOBN! members know that we and other community groups have been advocating for an effective Ceasefire program for a number of years now. The evidence from across the country is that when implemented carefully and properly, Cease Fire is one of the few strategies proven to reduce homicides in violent cities. Point 4 of the MOBN! Public Safety Plan provides:

The City must fully implement long-term Cease Fire programs for gun violence reduction and open-air drug market elimination, based on the Cincinnati /Boston model. The City must regularly report to the citizens on the extent to which these programs are reducing gun violence and eliminating open-air drug markets.

More information is available here, here, here and here. Scott Johnson’s recent post on the City’s current efforts is available at Oakland Effect here.
(more…)

16 Comments

December 10, 2012

Negotiated Settlement Agreement

Oakland and Plaintiffs Settle Receivership Issue in Riders Case

Oaklanders who follow MOBN!’s posts know that Federal Judge Thelton Henderson had a hearing scheduled next week on the question of whether the Oakland Police Department should be placed in receivership. Yesterday the plaintiffs and the city jointly filed a proposed settlement of the plaintiffs’ receivership motion. The proposed settlement is available here.

More information about the case of Delphine Allen et al. v. City of Oakland (“the Riders Case”) and the Consent Judgment (the “negotiated settlement agreement,” or “NSA”) are available here, here, here and here. Discussions about what the settlement means for Oakland, who won and who lost, will occur in the days to come. But today, we will briefly summarize what the parties agreed to and what the Court will order if Judge Henderson agrees with them.

(more…)

12 Comments

December 6, 2012

City Council / Public Safety

WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

Make Oakland Better Now! congratulates our elected or re-elected City Council members Dan Kalb (D1), Lynette Gibson McElhaney (D3), Noel Gallo (D5), Larry Reid (D7) and Rebecca Kaplan (At Large). Running for office is very hard, and we recognize that no one would do it who didn’t sincerely want the best for our City. In that spirit, we wish our newly elected and reelected officials the greatest success in making Oakland the city we all want it to be.

Now that the election is over, it’s time for even harder work to begin. The question we hear from all parts of Oakland is this: what do these election results mean? Most people seem to think we will see an increase in civility among council members, and that’s a good thing. But it will take far more than increased civility to make the changes Oakland needs. City leaders need to do something they haven’t done in many years: they must align their actions with their oft-stated beliefs in public safety, budgetary responsibility and government transparency.

(more…)

6 Comments

November 19, 2012

Uncategorized

MAKE OAKLAND BETTER NOW! ENDORSES IGNACIO DE LA FUENTE FOR CITY COUNCIL – AT LARGE

The MOBN! Board endorses Ignacio De La Fuente for the Oakland City Council At-Large. We strongly encourage you to vote for Ignacio as your first choice for City Council At-Large in November. After careful consideration of all candidates, we based our endorsement upon the following points.

First, for several years Ignacio has shared our view that public safety must be a top priority for Oakland. But more than just talking about public safety, Ignacio has been willing to support and champion a variety of measures to public safety and attempt to reduce violent crime in the city. While he has not always had the support of other soon-to-be retiring members of the council, his leadership on this issue has been instructive of what he might accomplish, given the more influential post that comes with the At-Large seat.
(more…)

13 Comments

October 18, 2012

Uncategorized

MAKE OAKLAND BETTER NOW! ENDORSES LYNETTE MCELHANEY FOR CITY COUNCIL – DISTRICT THREE

Make Oakland Better Now! is proud and pleased to endorse Lynette McElhaney for City Council District 3. We urge Oaklanders to join us in working for Lynette and contributing to the success of her campaign. In reviewing her responses to our questionnaire and observing her presentations at candidate forums, we were impressed by:

Her commitment to and understanding of public safety strategies that work. Nearly all city council candidates express a commitment to Cease Fire, a long-time MOBN! priority. But as a founding member of the Richmond Ceasefire / Lifelines to Healing strategy Work Group, Lynette has been an integral part of Cease Fire in Richmond, which has experienced a significant reduction in violent crime. She clearly understands the importance of real, Boston / Cincinnati Cease Fire programs.

In a district where it can be hard to advocate for more police, she makes it clear that a fully restored police force must be an essential element of Oakland’s public safety plan. Lynette is in full agreement with MOBN!’s public safety plan, including agreement that restoring the Oakland Police Department to 900 sworn officers must be our highest priority.

(more…)

0 Comments

October 10, 2012