Inside Oakland Breakfast- public safety moving in the right direction

Things do seem to be moving in the right direction, even though we do still have such a long way to go.

Here’s a table that captures some of the stats that were offered up in Friday's Inside Oakland Breakfast as well as those from recent City staff reports that capture the progress vs. the status quo challenges:

 

 

Public Safety: Progress v. Status Quo
Metrics	Progress	Status Quo
Homicides (& Non-Fatal Shootings)	·      Homicides down 28% in 2013; largest drop in 45 years ·     Non-fatal shootings down 16% last year; down 36% first part of this year	·      Multi-year averages for violent crime and homicides are all 3x to 6x state and national averages
Police Staffing & Recruitment	·      612 officers on the street today – a few away from lowest in history ·      47 – largest in history – graduate next week; up to 62 more in a few months ·      46% of officers over the last 4 academies were bilingual	·      Budgeted for 675 in FY14, though estimated need is 850-1,100 ·      5.32 monthly officer attrition ·      Not enough from the community and multilingual (e.g. 8% from Oakland

 

If you really want to delve into the issues…

Ø  Click here for a link to the staff report for the April 8 Public Safety Meeting that City Administrator Blackwell mentioned. This lays out the SAFER program:

ü  Stop violent crime.

ü  Assure school success and invest in prevention.

ü  Fund jobs and promote workforce readiness.

ü  Engage communities and build healthy neighborhoods.

ü  Renew the Oakland Police Department.

 

Ø  Here’s a link to the Tuesday, April 8 meeting agenda – note that this is a Special “in the community” meeting at Oakland Technical High School, though is still at the usual time of 6 PM.

Ø  Join the Chamber’s e-mail list: http://www.oaklandchamber.com/pages/About.

 

Ø  And, of course, plan on attending the biggest annual economic development event in Oakland – April 16: http://business.oaklandchamber.com/events/details/economic-development-summit-2823.

Thanks again to our sponsors Ruth Stroup Insurance Agency and Allied Barton Security Services, and to our speakers, City Administrator Fred Blackwell, Interim Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent, and Amy Roither from Detect All Security & Fire. 

Isaac Kos-Read

Public Affairs Consultant
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
 

 

Oakland City Council – Committee Assignments

Committee assignments for the next two years were approved by a unanimous voice vote this morning (Council Member Desley Brooks abstained). The assignments are:

By Council Member the assignments (and total number) are:

D1 – Kalb – 3:                        Rules, Public Works, Public Safety

D2 – Kernighan – 4:               Rules, Finance, Econ. Dev., Education

 

D3 – Gibson-McElhaney -4:   Econ. Dev., Life Enrichment, Education, Public Safety

D4 – Schaaf - 5:                      Rules, Finance, Econ. Dev., Education, Public Safety

 

D5 – Gallo -4:                         Public Works, Life Enrichment, Education, Public Safety

D6 – Brooks -2:                      Finance, Life Enrichment

 

D7 – Reid – 3:                                    Rules, Public Works, Econ. Dev.

At Large – Kaplan -3:             Finance, Public Works, Life Enrichment

 

Oakland City Council Committee Meetings on March 27, 2012

Public Works 10:30 am  Chair – Nancy Nadel

No items to highlight

Finance & Management  Noon  Chair – Ignacio De La Fuente

-              Require City Administrator to get Council approval before extending banking contract

-              Open Data Policy (from Schaaf) get city info on web for people to access

Community & Economic Development  2pm  Chair – Jane Brunner

-              Lake Merritt BART Preferred Development plan

-              Economic Development Strategy for the City

-              Review schedule to declare Enforceable Obligations – shutting down Redevelopment Agency

-              $873,497 from Army Base lease revenue to keep staff members

Life Enrichment  4pm   Chair – Desley Brooks

Meeting Cancelled

Public Safety  5:30 pm    Chair – Patricia Kernighan

-              Cabaret Hours Pilot Program – set to expire April 2012 extend it to May 2014

Plans at Lake Merritt BART, Cultural Arts Grants and Measure Y Review

Oakland City Council Committees meet Tuesday, March 13th.  Three particular items may interest Chamber members:

Community & Economic Development  2pm    Jane Brunner - Chair

A Report on the Draft Preferred Plan for the Approximate Half Mile Area Surrounding the Lake Merritt BART Station, which Contains Concepts and Strategies for Land Use, Open Space, Affordable Housing, Historic Preservation, Circulation, Streetscape, and Building Heights; and Will Be the Basis for a Draft Station Area Plan, which Will Be Studied in an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

The Draft Preferred Plan projects that between 3,700 and 5,600 new housing units, up to 5,755 new jobs, 412,000 square feet of additional retail space and 2.1 million square feet of additional office space will be created in the Planning Area by 2035. It also identifies near-term and long term improvements related to public safety, recreational and open space opportunities, transportation, and lighting.

The plan is available on line:  www.business2oakland.com/lakemerrittsap go to Reports.  This could be a great opportunity for positive projects in the heart of the city.  There are some frustrations being expressed about height limits, affordable housing requirements, community benefits and other issues.

Life Enrichment   4 pm      Desley Brooks - Chair
Approximately $850,000 in Cultural Arts Grants supporting 52 Oakland non-profits and artists are on the agenda for Council approval.  Chamber members receiving grants include: Civic Corps Schools, Contare Con Vivo, Friends of Peralta Historical Park, Oakland Asian Cultural Center, Oakland Ballet, Oakland East Bay Symphony, Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, Pro Arts and Stagebridge.  Congratulations to them and thanks for their good work in our community!

Public Safety   5:30 pm   Patricia Kernighan - Chair

Measure Y requires an annual report identifying (a) the amount of funds collected and expended; and (b) the status of any project required or authorized to be funded.

Patel & Associates, an independent accounting firm and subcontractor, performed the Measure Y - Violence Prevention and Public Safety Act of 2004 financial audit for the year ending June 30, 2011.

Summary of spending by category:

Community &             Hire and keep 63 officers assigned to:                       $ 5,238,568

Neighborhood             Neighborhood beat officers, school safety,

Policing                       crime reduction team, domestic violence

                                    and child abuse prevention and officer

                                    training and equipment

Violence Prevention    Expand preventive social services by the                   $ 6,086,416

Services – emphasis    City or add capacity to community based

Youth & kids              nonprofit programs – Youth outreach

                                    Counselors, in and after school programs,

                                    domestic violence and child abuse

                                    counselors and offender/parolee

                                    employment training

Fire Services                Maintain staff and equip. for 25 fire engine               $ 4,000,000

                                    Companies and seven truck companies,

                                    expand paramedic services and establish a

                                    mentorship program at each station

Program Audit            1 – 3% of Measure Y funds for the purpose of          $  479,985

& Oversight                independent evaluation of the program, including

                                    the number of people served and the rate of

                                    crime or violence reduction.

Total                                                                                                                $15,804,969

Mayor Quan lunches with Chamber Board

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan joined the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Board at its year end lunch meeting today to discuss the future of Oakland.  The Mayor covered a number of topics from the city budget and public safety to education and promoting business and international trade.

The Mayor told us that the budget while difficult after years of declining revenue was more transparent and better set up with reserves than had been true in the past.  She appreciated the concessions made by labor groups and was confident that the loss of the parcel tax (Measure I) would not imperil city services.  Quan indicated she expects to continue to streamline city services to make the most out of city resources.  The Mayor also expressed confidence in her new management team, City Administrator Deanna Santana and Assistant City Administrators Scott Johnson and Fred Blackwell, all three of whom have been with the city for just the last 3-4 months.

On public safety she talked about hiring police officers and focusing on 100 blocks that have suffered the worst crime problems.  She has confidence in new Police Chief Howard Jordan who has held the post since mid-October. The Mayor and City Administrator Santana meet weekly with federal monitors to avoid a federal takeover of OPD.  One particular law enforcement tool the Mayor cited as effective and that she wants to see more of is cameras especially in commercial zones.  She says the data shows that where the cameras exist, crime gets pushed away and so she wants to expand the areas covered.

Mayor Quan indicated she has promoted trade in her efforts on various national groups, trips to China and conferences, including the Regional Export Initiative signed by her and other area mayors at the Chambers MegaRegion event earlier this year. 

The Mayor talked about her efforts to keep the city’s sport franchises and attract retail to town.  She talked about her 25% solution, the idea that even just a 25% increase of local shopping by Oaklanders could create jobs and improve city finances.

The Chamber looks forward to continuing to work with Mayor Quan to promote economic growth and job creation in Oakland!

Public Safety Action Delayed at City Council

The council voted 4-4 Tuesday night (Mayor Quan made the tie-breaking vote) to send the Loitering, Curfew and Gang Injunction measures on last night’s Council agenda to the Public Safety Committee which next meets Tuesday October 25 at 5:30 pm. Those who wanted to act on the 3 measures last night were De La Fuente, Reid, Schaaf and Kernighan. Those urging delay and further study were Brooks, Kaplan, Brunner and Nadel.

The Shot Spotter contract award was part of the consent calendar and passed unanimously.

The three hours of discussion at Council last night mainly centered around the idea that Curfews and Loitering (also Injunctions) do not work and people holding this view insisted the facts supported their side. Proponents pointed to their own studies and noted that many other cities’ have these type of laws. In fact it was said California state law has loitering prohibitions and that a city ordinance would simply give police the chance to write a ticket instead of making an arrest which is the only action the state law allows.

The Chamber and a broad coalition of business groups is supporting all these Public Safety measures and more (see our letter here).

Public Safety Requires Immediate Attention

Below is a letter the Oakland Chamber of Commerce, the Airport Area Business Business Association, the Jobs and Housing Coalition, the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce, the East Bay Rental Housing Association, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce have drafted to City Council in regards to Oakland's Public Safety Issues.

3 October 2011

Dear Council Members:

Public Safety requires immediate attention.

The signatories to this letter represent a broad based coalition of Oakland businesses ranging from small businesses to the largest corporations, and include rental housing providers and Ethnic Chambers of Commerce. 

We believe Oakland is a great place to live and do business. There is, however, one issue that detracts from this positive picture. While in many categories of crime there is progress, the headline grabbing homicide rate is on the rise and there is still far too much violence on our streets.  This is first and foremost a personal tragedy for the victims and their families. But study after study shows, and empty storefronts reinforce, violent crimes impact the business climate as well.  For both reasons, we have united to urge you to find ways to address the problem. 

In tight budget times we still need to find ways to avoid ever decreasing police staffing levels. Tools such as gang injunctions, curfews and anti-loitering measures have been suggested by expert criminologists and we believe they should be used.  We also support the use of other recommended technologies such as surveillance cameras, shot spotter audio systems, better street lighting and laptop computers in patrol cars.  When neighborhoods and businesses are safe, people shop in those neighborhoods and tax revenue increases. 

It is in this spirit of coming together for this important cause that we call on all members of the community and our political leaders to put aside past differences and support measures that can help police in their efforts to stop violence. We need more police officers and we need to support them. We urge the Council to come together in the best interest of the entire Oakland community and not be overly concerned about a few loud voices who have dominated the debate.  The time for talking and protesting has passed.  We need to come together and solve this problem now.

Concern for the safety of innocent law abiding citizens who have every right to live free of the fear of crime must be our primary focus. We urge all advocates to respect their colleagues as we work through these issues.  And we urge you to act quickly, with one voice to let everyone know we stand against crime and for the rights of people to live safe and productive lives with their loved ones here in our great city.    

Sincerely,

Theo Jackson                                                   Joseph J. Haraburda

President                                                          President & CEO        

Airport Area Business Association                    Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce 

Gregory McConnell                                          Wil Hardee                              

President & CEO                                             President & CEO                                

Jobs and Housing Coalition                               Oakland African-American Chamber of Commerce     

            

Bill Bagnell                                                       Jose Duenas

President                                                          President & CEO

East Bay Rental Housing Association                Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Alameda County

* The Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce also supports this letter and stance on Public Safety issues in Oakland.

                                                                       

Public Safety dominates Council Agenda Tomorrow Night!

A loitering ordinance, a youth curfew and extending the gang injuction are all included on the City Council Agenda Tuesday Night (10/4).  They are agenda items 13, 14 and 15 respectively.  The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 pm but these items are not likely to come up in the agenda until 7pm at the earliest.  If you’d like to attend the Council meeting and speak on these topics you will need to fill out a Speakers Card.  You can fill out the Card in person or on-line.  One other Public safety measure on the agenda is award of a shot spotter contract that will help police quickly and accurately identify where gunshots have been fired.  This contract award is part of the consent calendar, is not expected to be controversial and will come up before the other public safety issues.

Also on the Council Agenda tomorrow night the Council will consider recommendations to make Building Inspections more consistent from one city inspector to another.  And two recommendations by the Mayor for new Port Commissioners. Victor Uno would retain his seat and Jakada Imani would fill a seat currently held by Margaret Gordon.

To watch a live broadcast of the City Council Meeting, visit the City's Live Video webpage.