Get More Police Officers on the Streets of Oakland

That was the message at the Oakland City Council Finance and Management committee on Tuesday.  Chairperson Libby Schaaf, along with Council President Pat Kernighan and President Pro Tem Rebecca Kaplan (fourth committee member Desley Brooks was absent) voted unanimously to approve the resolutions that will authorize the expedited hiring of 20 police technicians and one fingerprint examiner; bring eleven Alameda County Deputy Sheriffs on patrol in Oakland two days a week; and commit needed funds to begin to prepare for a Police Academy that would start in September 2013 (it would be the third Academy to start since September 2012).

All three matters now go to the full Council for approval on January 22.  All three resolutions were authored by Schaaf and Vice Mayor Reid and supported by Police Chief Howard Jordan, City Administrator Deanna Santana and Mayor Jean Quan.
 
It was noted that all three resolutions are meant to get more patrol officers on the streets.  By hiring more technicians the hope is not only that more evidence will be gathered and hence more crimes solved, but also that sworn officers now handling those tasks will be able to return to patrol. 

By authorizing preliminary steps needed to start an Academy in September the City sticks to its commitment to run academies for the foreseeable future.  With a current sworn staff at OPD of 613 officers and attrition averaging 4.25 officers/month new officers are needed.  Academy’s start with 55 trainees and usually graduate about 409 who then need 6 months of field training.  This means two academies a year would produce about 80 new officers, replacing 51 who would retire or otherwise leave the force. 

Given the low number officers (OPD was at 803 officers just about 3 years ago) and the time it takes to staff up the third item, a temporary agreement with the Alameda County Sheriff to bring officers on patrol in Oakland is timely.  And police staff noted that the deputies will be deployed to areas and at times identified by crime statistics as especially in need of additional law enforcement attention.

 

Congratulations to Chiefs Jordan & Reed

The Chamber salutes Police Chief Howard Jordan and Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed for their appointments to Oakland’s public safety departments. Mayor Quan has taken the “interim” tag off Chief Jordan while at the same time naming Reed, the former San Jose Assistant Fire Chief, to head the Oakland Fire Department.

Chief Jordan is a 24-year veteran on Oakland’s Police Department and the city’s first homegrown police chief since 2004. He has worked as patrol officer, watch commander, SWAT team member, criminal investigator and head of the school police department since joining the force in 1988.

When Chief Reed takes over the Fire Department in March, Oakland will join a growing list of Bay Area cities, including San Francisco and Berkeley, to have female fire chiefs. She had spent her entire career in San Jose where she worked alongside Oakland City Administrator Deanna Santana.

A Salute to Oakland City Leaders

The Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce salutes the elected and appointed leaders of Oakland, including Mayor Jean Quan, Police Chief Howard Jordan, City Administrator Deanna Santana, the City Council, the Oakland Police Department, and everyone within the City Government for the peaceful and successful clearing of Frank Ogawa Plaza this morning.

It is a move that helps secure the plaza for all citizens to enjoy and removes the many safety and health hazards that were growing as overnight camping was allowed to continue. Now Oakland can move forward.

We concur with Mayor Quan’s comments at her press conference this morning when she asked that we all respect the city’s decision to close the camp and not hurt the city.

Moving forward, we commit to work with everyone who wants to grow our local economy. Local shops, restaurants and offices that have suffered lost business eagerly want to see their customers return.

Oakland is a great city and working together we can make it even better.

Howard Jordan sworn in as Interim Oakland Police Chief

Howard Jordan was sworn in today as the Interim Police Chief of the Oakland Police Department at a press conference at City Hall. Jordan is a 23 year veteran of the Oakland Police Department and served in the role of Interim Chief for 9 months in 2009 before Chief Batts came to Oakland.  City Administrator Deanna Santana, Mayor Quan and Chief Jordan spoke at the press conference and all said achieving full compliance with the Federal Courts’ Negotiated Settlement Agreement (NSA) by January 2012 is a top priority.

Santana said the appointment of Jordan will stand until the January NSA deadline.  At that time she will either conduct a formal national search for a new Chief as she did in San Jose, conduct a more informal search or simply appoint Jordan to the role permanently.

Jordan was asked how he would handle the difficult bureaucracy and lack of authority cited by departing Chief Batts.  Jordan said he would work collaboratively with Ms. Santana.  When asked about the need for the crime fighting tools of gang injunctions, curfews and anti-loitering laws, Jordan said they were only tools and that he would work with the Council and City Administrator.

Mayor Quan said she would be announcing a Public Safety Strategy at her Neighborhood Safety Summit this Saturday, October 15, from 8 am to 1:30 pm at Laney College.  This may disappoint some groups who said at a recent Council meeting that they hoped there would be community input into any Public Safety Plan.

It was also announced that Tom Frazier has been retained by the City to help achieve compliance with the NSA.  Frazier served for 10 years as Executive Director of the Major Cities Police Chiefs Association and has been a Federal Monitor of U.S. Dept. of Justice Consent decrees in Los Angeles and Detroit.