Jane Brunner for City Council

Fighting Crime

Reducing crime is my number one priority.  The City Oakland has recently implemented several new policies and programs to prevent crime, but a great deal more needs to be done.  Here is a progress report on what has been accomplished and a presentation of what is needed next.

Progress Report 

Here is a progress report on the steps we are taking to prevent crime:

Geographic Policing

The Police Department has shifted to a Geographic Accountability system of management, which means that the City is divided into three main areas. Each area is led by an Area Commander who has direct control over that area and can make strategic decisions about how to best use resources and personnel for that area.

New Captain for North Oakland

As part of the shift to geographic policing, North Oakland (part of Area 1) was assigned to Captain Anthony Toribio. Captain Toribio is implementing many new approaches to reducing crime in North Oakland including:

• Setting up Mobile Command Posts (MCP) in target areas.

• Expanding truancy sweeps.

• Referring at risk individuals to Measure Y programs.

• Assigning police officers to walk the neighborhood.

Additional Funding for Police Recruitment

I led the Council in adopting the allocation of $7.7 million to implement an intensive recruitment strategy to bring the force up to 803 officers by December of 2008.

Prevention Programs

Prevention programs provide positive avenues for youth, including job-training, substance abuse, counseling, and after-school programs.  Measure Y funding supports these programs to provide paths away from crime.

Juvenile Desk

I made the police department establish a Juvenile Desk necessary to track crimes by juveniles and provide them options that keep them away from hardened criminals. 

Next Steps

Despite these developments, there is still much to be done. Citywide, the level of crime is intolerable. This is what needs to happen to stem the violence and criminal activity in the community.

More Officers

We need to increase the number of police officers. A city the size of Oakland should have more than 803 police officers. The City should pass a bond measure to increase the police force by 200 additional offices.

Comprehensive Crime Prevention Strategy

Other cities have succeeding in reducing crime by following a clear and comprehensive crime reduction strategy. Oakland does not have a strategy. The Oakland Police Department needs a comprehensive strategy for the next 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years.  We must demand that the Chief of Police produce this plan.

Data Analysis

We need to use technology and data collection systems to analyze crime trends. Cities like New York and Los Angeles have successfully reduced crime using a COMSTAT information command and accountability system. Next month, I will be taking the three Police Captains and the City Administrator to Los Angeles to observe their system so that Oakland police can learn to use COMSTAT as effectively as possible.  We need to implement a strong COMSTAT program immediately.

Community Policing

We need community policing – officers that are able to spend the time to get to know a neighborhood and its particular issues without being transferred to other tasks in other parts of the city. Too often officers are pulled out of North Oakland to address crime in other areas.

We need to act quickly on these priorities to reduce crime and so that people will feel safe in all our communities.