By Jennifer Ward 
(Editor’s note from Oakland Local: When Chief Anthony Batts was named as Oakland’s new police chief in August 2009, there were high hopes by many for what he would bring to the city. The former Long Beach police chief also had big plans for a community that was struggling for a more positive relationship between police and residents, lower crime rates and respect. The following is the fourth in a five-part series that looks at Batts’ first year on the job and what the future holds for his tenure as chief of police.)
When Anthony Batts became the new police chief of Oakland, there was little indication he knew how deep the financial problems were. But these days, it is all too clear that Oakland’s budget issues have a direct effect on the police department.
Money woes will weigh heavily on Oakland voters this November election. That’s because Oakland is struggling with a $30.5 million budget deficit for this year, and next year’s budget gap is projected to reach $50 million.
Some put the city's structural deficit for the next four years at $400 million. And City Hall's own recent projection shows a structural deficit of $589 million over five years.
City officials claim that they’ve had the rug pulled from under them by the Great Recession. But that’s only part of the story.
Not only has Oakland not saved money for a rainy day, it has dug a major financial debt that is turning into a black hole. To make matters worse, the public safety portion of the city’s general fund budget is greatly unbalanced and accounts for 75 percent of the budget.
"In the last three years the city's general fund has went from $480 million to about $400 million," said City Councilwoman Pat Kernighan. "That's a huge drop."
The city has put together a number of options to begin dealing with the immediate budget problems.
First, City Council put a four-year, $360-per-parcel tax on the November ballot to fund police and fire services.
If this measure passes, an agreement with Oakland police will kick in where police officers will begin contributing to their pension plan, a contentious issue that has dragged through the summer.
Next, voters will consider a measure that would tax cannabis dispensaries, production and cultivation by 5 percent and recreational use by 10 percent if cannabis is legalized at the state level.
Voters also will consider a phone tax that would impose a $1.99 fee annually if passed.
The current tax proposals on the ballot this fall would place a sudden, heavy tax, primarily on property owners.
City voters also will be asked to overhaul Measure Y to suspend the minimum staffing levels required to collect the tax. About $6 million was used to help pay for 63 problem solving officers that have now been reassigned to street patrol.
According to published reports, if voters approve every tax measure sought by the city and the Oakland Unified School District this November, the average Oakland resident would have to pay an extra $627 a year.
Even without the recession, the city was likely to face deep pain anyway. As a result of heavy reliance on real estate transfer tax during the housing boom in 2001 and 2002, the city awarded generous contracts to its public employees, namely police and fire. Over time, those awards took a heavy toll on the city’s general funds. But, while times were financially good, few in city government were warning of a likely disaster, which would mean the layoff of scores of city workers in 2010.
"We were getting a massive amount of income, about $75 million a year from the real estate transfer tax," Kernighan said. "The city back then should of been more conservative with their fiscal management and they should of said, 'You know this is probably not going to go on forever, we shouldn't let our basic expenses grow. We should put some of that money in reserve for a rainy day.’ And they didn't. It was like, 'Oh great the money is there we can have more social programs, we can have more this.'”
It was during this boom time that generous raises and benefits were negotiated with many city unions, including police and fire, Kernighan said. Under the pension system plan the city negotiated, many retired fire and city officers were able to retire at 50 and make close their original salaries, in some cases $100,000.
“What’s really needed is a long term, sustainable public safety measure,” said Bruce Nye of Make Oakland Better Now! “The leadership in Oakland has to have a laser-like focus on cost effective public safety solutions for the city.”
Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan said the most immediate strategy for the Council is to work with the Oakland Police Department in redeploying police officers in the most strategic way possible.
“I also feel that we need to work on the long-term financial situation,” Kaplan said. “The ideal solution would be to deal with the police pension cost. Most cities no longer do what we do.”
Lowering police pension costs would allow the city to have more funds to hire more officers, she said.
So far, almost all solutions offered fall short.
“Sworn police and firefighters in the Bay Area, and also many other public employees, were treated very well when things were going well economically,” Nye said. “But, it’s also a two-way street and something has to give. One way or another, it has to be less expensive benefits.”
Nye said dollars don’t always equal a feeling of safety.
“One of the first things Batts said was that Oakland has one of the most expensive police departments and yet not everyone feels safe,"
“I don’t think we’ll get out of this for a while,” Nye said. “I think we have a bigger problem than the loss of 80 officers or 200 officers.”
This fall, we have a citywide election that has a handful of revenue measures, designed to save the police, shore up city services and overhaul Measure Y.
For many Oaklanders, it’s important that the city begin working on some of its root economic problems.
“We’re going to need economic development,” said Jakada Imani, executive director of the Ella Baker Center. “We’re going to need jobs. We’re going to need educational opportunities. We’re going to need recreational development for young people. We’re going to need the parks to be open and open later during the summer. We’re going to need these things in order to have a safe and thriving and inclusive community.”
Nye said smaller resources is now an everyday reality for the Oakland police.
“Trying to do more with less,” he said. “That’s going to continue to be the challenge.”
Kernighan said residents need to get used to dealing with city budget issues.
“This is a pretty permanent situation for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Nobody expects the economy to revive in a big way in the next five years where our revenue stays pretty flat, which is way too low and yet the cost of providing the same services is the same.”
Tomorrow: OPD Chief reflects on past, future
Read Part 1: New OPD chief tries to fight Oakland’s downward spiral & Part 2: One Year Later: Oakland Chief Batts prepares game plan for department, city; & Part 3: Oakland Residents Remain Positive Despite Reduced Police Force, continued Tenson
Acknowledgements: Oakland Local thanks Spot.us, which helped us raise the money to fund this series, Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig for editing these pieces, and Jennifer Inez Ward for all her research and writing.
Read more coverage of the Oakland PD here. http://oaklandlocal.com/tags/OPD
Posted by Jennifer Ward on 09/23/10(Editor’s note: Produced by Oakland Local, funded by the Spot.Us community)
When Chief Anthony Batts was named as Oakland’s new police chief in August 2009, there were high hopes by many for what he would bring to the city. The former Long Beach police chief also had big plans for a community that was struggling for a more positive relationship between police and residents, lower crime rates and respect. The following is the third in a five-part series that looks at Batts’ first year on the job and what the future holds for his tenure as chief of police.
From where some young men stand, Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts and his plans for change are a far away non-reality.
“It’s like some people out here have had bad experiences with the police and so they always keep that experience with them,” said Javier Reid, 19, at Youth Uprising.
“Some people when they’re growing up they just always knowing that, you know, the police are bad,” he said. “Like me, my dad has been in out of jail all my life so I always blamed the police.”
Reid said he no longer carries negative feelings about the police.
“I understand that when I used to get in trouble it was more me getting myself in trouble. Cause now, problems don’t come my way. When the police get behind me or something like that, I don’t get nervous because I have nothing to hide.”
Sometimes, the relationship between police and the citizens of Oakland get deeply personal.
Tiera McGill is still coming to terms with the October 2003 killing of her brother, Terrance Mearis, by Oakland Police.
“With the whole Oscar Grant situation, that definitely touched home for my family,” McGill said. Nevertheless since her brother’s death, she’s found her response to police very complex.
“At first I hated the police for what they did to my brother. I just hated them so much,” she said. “But, then after the Mixon situation, I just realized how police go through things too and that they have families. It just made me understand that they’re human and they sometimes are afraid when they come out on these streets. Sh--, we got as many guns out here on the street as they do, you feel me?”
McGill decided to take part in Code 33 – a partnership between Oakland police and YouthUprising that brings beat officers into intense sessions with the youth of Oakland. It is one of several community policing programs.
“The Code 33 was, maybe a way for me to help heal myself because I did have so much anger at the police, and I wanted to see if there was a way for me to deal with it,” she said.
McGill said the program further opened her eyes about cops and now, even though she still gets a bit anxious around police, she’s decided that she wants to be in law enforcement.
“That’s my dream. Once I get everything right, I do want to be an Oakland police officer … from Oakland.”
But, while not all young people are anti-police, most think the police have done a poor job with building relations and treating youth fairly.
Sgt. Bobby Hookfin would like to see community tensions between police and youth die down. As a life long Oaklander who decided to work for the department, he understands some of the complaints some city communities have about police and it’s why he works with numerous police community programs. Hookfin, who’s been on the force for 12 years, said Code 33 has been successful at helping police officers and city youth understand each other better. The program runs for five weeks and for three hours at YouthUprising; youth and police officers engage in intense discussion on a variety of topics.
Hookfin said the program has been a valuable experience for both youth and officers, including himself. A couple of months ago, he said he was driving in East Oakland and he caught sight of McGill waiting for a bus.
“I did a U-turn and we had a nice conversation,” he said. That pleasant exchange, he added, would not have happened if the two had not been involved with Code 33.
Hookfin said he feels good that McGill not only took part in Code 33, but that she wants to be a police officer, despite her brother being killed by Oakland police.
“I’m glad we were able to talk to her,” he said. “And I’m glad that she was able to talk to us and open up about how she felt.”
Despite its success, Code 33 can only make a dent in the tug-of-war relation between police and many in certain communities.
Oakland youth want to see change
Early this summer, right before the Mehserle verdict, East Oakland resident La La squints into the afternoon sun.
“Everything needs to change,” the 19-year-old, who asked that only her first name be used, said, referring to the city’s murders and assaults numbers. “It seems like this year is as bad as 2006.”
La La spends time at YouthUprising and has participated in some of the center’s programs. She said Oakland police act no differently under Chief Batts.
“I feel like there’s more police that have been brought out, but I haven’t seen any change in what they’re doing. And I believe this a partial reason way the city is going crazy,” she said. “Because I don’t feel like some of the motives of the police officers are right and I don’t feel like their intentions are to help, but to just do their job … arrest.”
La La said as the department struggles with a diminished force and a smaller budget, it’s important to reach out to the youth of Oakland.
“Now is the time for them to try and do things differently,” she said. “If they come from a place more of love and of trying to help instead of ‘this is my job and I’m locking the youth away’ … once we (youth) see a difference in their motives and their behavior and actions, then I think things will be better.”
Batts said he hopes Oakland youth can begin to see better police relations soon.
“One of the things I’d like to see happen is a citywide conversation about really critical things affecting the city and where we (Oakland police) may fall short,” Batts said. “With the Oscar Grant verdict there was just a fantastic outpouring of emotion and passion and I’d like to take the momentum that has grown from that event and have concrete, honest conversations as a community about race, our impoverished area and the legitimate use of police force.”
Gang injunctions begin
One area that has lacked total public support is Batts’ use of gang injunctions in North Oakland beginning in February. According to the chief, gang injunctions are a way for police to curtail “gang activities” in designated “Safety Zones,” which in North Oakland include roughly 100 blocks between I-580, Emeryville, Berkeley and Telegraph Avenue.
For the 19 individuals that fall under the injunction, it sets a curfew between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. If any of the 19 members of the gang are caught engaging in prohibited activities – like associating with other gang members, selling drugs or possessing firearms – they can be found in contempt of court and face six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
While OPD views gang injunction as, “another resource for officers to use,” many people were uncomfortable with the civil rights infringements and the lack of clear data that showed gang injunctions to have a clear and lasting impact on communities plagued by violence.
“We didn’t just randomly pick 19 people in North Oakland,” Batts said at a June press conference. “Those people have a history. We’re not trying to take away their civil rights … we’re trying to give civil rights back to the community.”
The North Oakland gang injunction was never intended to be a cure-all, OPD spokesman Jeff Thomason said.
“Is it going to change anything going on out there right now? No, it’s not a panacea to crime,” Thomason said. “It’s a tool for officers to use.”
In June, Thomason said the City Attorney’s office was looking at expanding gang injunction if it was successful in North Oakland.
“Absolutely,” Thomason said. “The next area will probably be in Area 2, in the Fruitvale area.”
Besides the gang injunction issue, Oakland continued to see headline grabbing crimes and public safety incidents, including police, community and outside response to the Mehserle verdict in downtown Oakland on July 9.
A dim future?
There are no easy solutions to Oakland’s crime problem or budget issues. And in many ways, one is tied to the other. For the foreseeable future, Oakland will struggle economically and city services, including public safety will feel the sting of lower revenue.
Oakland native Jakada Imani, executive director of the Ella Baker Center, said more than ever, the police need to reach outside of their comfort zone if they are to succeed without the manpower and financial resources that had previously been available.
“We know that the safest communities aren’t the ones that have the most cops,” said Imani. “The safest communities are the ones that have the highest employment rates, the healthiest foods, the cleanest air. Police are an important part of a public safety strategy, but they’re only part of the public safety strategy.”
Kentrell Killens, a case manager at the East Oakland Asian Youth Center, agrees.
“I don’t think they’re addressing the problems in a holistic way,” Killens said. “They’re just dealing with it by saying, ‘Well, lets just get these dudes off the corner. I just think they’re making it clear that their way of cleaning up Oakland and making Oakland safer is by swooping people up and taking them to jail.”
Batts said despite the ups and downs at the police department, he’s determined to forge ahead with both the strategic plan and community policing.
“We’ll have an updated draft of the strategic framework ready in the next few weeks,” Batts said “And we will continue to have community policing continue in some form. Right now we’re revamping and reshaping how we’re doing a lot of things at the department.”
Tomorrow: One Year Later: How will Oakland’s fall election impact the city, OPD?
Read Part 1: New OPD chief tries to fight Oakland’s downward spiral & Part 2: One Year Later: Oakland Chief Batts prepares game plan for department, city
Acknowledgements: Oakland Local thanks Spot.us, which helped us raise the money to fund this series, Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig for editing these pieces, and Jennifer Inez Ward for all her research and writing.
Read more coverage of the Oakland PD here. http://oaklandlocal.com/tags/OPD
Posted by Jennifer Ward on 09/22/10
(Editor’s note: When Chief Anthony Batts was named as Oakland’s new police chief in August 2009, there were high hopes by many for what he would bring to the city. The former Long Beach police chief also had big plans for a community that was struggling for a more positive relationship between police and residents, lower crime rates and respect. The following is the second in a five-part series that looks at Batts’ first year on the job and what the future holds for his tenure as chief of police. Read Part 1: New OPD chief tries to fight Oakland’s downward spiral
Acknowledgements: Oakland Local thanks Spot.us, which helped us raise the money to fund this series, Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig for editing these pieces, and Jennifer Inez Ward for all her research and writing.)
Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts came into town bursting with ideas. Most of these ideas were embedded in a draft of plan called the Strategic Framework.
Using broad language, Batts promised that by using the Strategic Plan as a guidepost, Oakland would see significant changes in its crime rates, better police response times and more collaboration between police and Oakland citizens. In addition, the plan has a goal to bring different communities together to work on entrenched crime issues. While new technologies and possible programs are proposed in the framework, no dollar figures are introduced that would spell out possible costs.
OPD spokesman Jeff Thomason said that from the beginning, the strategic plan is meant as a vision with almost equal input from the police department as well as the citizens of Oakland.
“It’s going to be a living plan,” Thomason said. “It’s always going to change and it will continue to evolve. Obviously when we have a budget crisis that’s going on right now, that’s going to take into account some of the things that we might not be able to do.”
Batts took a number of upfront initiatives, including placing police officers assigned to desk duty back into the streets to respond to 911 calls. Supervisors also were pulled into “calls for service.”
The response was positive from those in the community paying attention to Batts’ plan.
“I feel that it’s (the strategic framework) better than nothing,” Fruitvale resident Carmen Carlos said. “We need somebody to put together some type of plan for all of the bad stuff going on out here. Maybe this will help.”
Despite the challenges he faced, success came early for the chief. Most publicly, he went on a listening tour of the city and attended numerous community public safety discussions. By his account, he’s attended “80 to 90” since he was hired as chief. And with Measure Y finally making an impact years after voters approved it, the crime rate started moving south and suddenly there seemed to be traction in fighting Oakland crime.
Measure Y – passed by voters in 2004 – requires the city to maintain a specific number of officers in order to retain funding for the police and fire departments and violence prevention programs. Also thanks to Measure Y, the city’s 57 neighborhood beats were each assigned a problem-solving officer, or PSO, in addition to regular patrol officers. The problem-solving officers would attend community-policing meetings to work closely with the neighborhood.
Another positive development for Batts was the Mixon cop killing report, which was celebrated for its transparency. The “routine traffic stop that turned into a pursuit” in March 2009 led to what many consider one of the greatest tragedy in the Oakland Police Department's history. The pursuit of Mixon led to the death of the four officers and Mixon. However, an independent report on police actions during that incident found a series of mistakes by OPD.
The layoffs, the pension
The weeks leading up to the OPD layoffs were a tense flurry blur in Oakland; around-the-clock negotiations between the city and police union went on, plans offered by Council members were tossed about and accusatory fingers were pointing all around as the public searched where to lay the blame.
In the end, negotiations stalled at the final hour. Pink slips were then handed out and 80 cops; many cadets, some with a few years under their belts, were told not to report to work the next day.
Long-time City Hall watchers may have seen the police layoffs coming, but when Batts arrived in Oakland, he gave no public indication that he knew that the already-stretched thin police department would be tested with labor unrest. In fact, Batts said repeatedly in his first few months that he believed the department needed more officers.
“It’s tragic because (the layoffs) started a ripple effect,” Oakland resident Geoffry Collins said. “Number one, these are the youngest officers that we have because they go by seniority, perhaps they’ve been on the force three, four years. But, they’re our hope for the future in dealing with young kids in the community where we have our biggest threats with violence. They work closely with these kids and that’s the whole point … we want to turn (problems of violence) around.”
Collins said he believes the layoffs also have affected police morale.
“That sent a chilling effect throughout the rest of the department,” he said. “Because without that guarantee we know that this Council will come back again in a year and will start pressuring the OPOA (Oakland Police Officers Association) for more concessions with the threat of more layoffs. It’s devastating and it’s going to get worse. Because a lot of these younger cops now, who are probably going to get laid off in November, they’re already looking and then you couple that with the attrition of the older cops coming up on 30 years and this city could be below 600 officers in a year.”
However, all is not lost. In August, the police officer’s union agreed to a 9 percent pension contribution. That contribution, some say, could possibly mean a rehire of officers laid off, although that option is still speculation. Under the just approved agreement, police officers would pay 4 percent of their salaries toward their pensions starting in 2011. In 2012, officers would pay 7 percent and the full 9 percent in 2013.
In addition, the police union accepted a later retirement for new hires. Officers now can retire at age 50 and earn 3 percent of their salary for every year served. Under the new agreement, the retirement age would move to 55.
In order to understand the layoffs, you have to understand the pension plans for city workers, in particular the police and fire departments. The city police now, for the first time, have to pay into their pension plan. Currently, the fire department does not. But most city workers pay some percentage into their pension.
Meanwhile, Oakland residents have felt the immediate impact of the layoffs. Residents who become victims of non-violent and non-emergency crimes to report them online, via a system called Coplogic.
In addition, the July layoffs also has meant a severe cut in problem solving officers, a key component to community policing, as well as other police department services.
OPOA President Dominique Arotzarena said police officers are feeling very stressed in Oakland.
“Morale right now is terrible,” Arotzarena said. “You’ve got a police department that feels that they’re not well liked by the politicians in this town and that they’re being blamed for the budget situation.”
Arotzarena said it’s important that the police feels they are supported by the city.
“This is a very different type of job where you’ve really got to have good morale. It plays a big part,” he said.
Tomorrow: Oakland residents remain positive despite reduce police force, continued tension.
Read more coverage of the Oakland PD here. http://oaklandlocal.com/tags/OPD
(Editor’s note: The first in a five-part series produced by Oakland Local with support from the Spot.Us community. When Chief Anthony Batts was named as Oakland’s new police chief in August 2009, there were high hopes by many for what he would bring to the city. The former Long Beach police chief also had big plans for a community that was struggling for a more positive relationship between police and residents, lower crime rates and respect. The following is the first in a five-part series that looks at Batts’ first year on the job and what the future holds for his tenure as chief of police.)
Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts stood confidently during a press conference this past June, prepared to deliver some bad news.
As a result of recent police layoffs and the city budget situation, Batts was about to ask for federal help to deal with recent hot crime trends in a city that has been repeatedly named one of most dangerous in the nation in 2010.
Facing the bright television camera lights and cluster of microphones, Batts explained the recent layoff of 80 officers by the City Council to deal with budget issues would mean that 44 crimes would now only be reported online. The department was asking for federal help to deal with the expected increase in violent crimes these cuts could trigger.
There was no question that, as he delivered this bad news, Batts conveyed the strong leadership style that had made him a star, even before he signed the contract to leave Long Beach, California, and become police chief of Oakland.
Still, such drastic shift in city policing, especially in the first year of his assuming command, many say has put Batts' strategic plan for Oakland at risk.
A few weeks later, in a phone interview, Batts didn’t mince words when he spoke about what the current situation feels like for him.
“To be perfectly honest, it was demoralizing losing those officers,” he said. “But I understand what our reality is right now.”
This January, the pain is likely to get deeper for Batts as it is almost certain Oakland PD will lose a minimum of 22 officers – thanks to a clause included in Measure Y. The measure requires the city to maintain 739 officers on staff in order to get nearly $20 million in funding for violence prevention programs and additional police and fire services. Now with the layoffs, the minimum staffing level has dropped. Some say the $20 million is likely to go away and with it, the salaries for 22 officers.
To make matters worse, if several ballot measures introduced by City Council do not pass in November, there could be an additional 100 more officers laid off from the Oakland Police Department. One bright spot is the city and the police union recently agreed to a new pension plan for the police force. But that plan is only likely to kick in if a controversial parcel tax is passed. In the meantime, there are some that believe the new pension plan agreement can stave off some of the possible layoffs.
As Oakland’s new police chief deals with this unexpectedly severe situation, some people are wondering if Batts will stay with the city to finish the fight he begun. And so far, while Batts has enjoyed strong support from many in the community, many are keeping an eye on the city’s weekly crime reports, which continues a positive trend downward.
“I just know he can find a way,” said Nancy C. Thompson, a lifelong Oakland resident who currently lives in the Lakeshore District. “ Even with everything that’s happened. I still believe he can continue to do some good.”
Batts arrives in Oakland, a star is born
By all accounts, Mayor Ron Dellums scored major points by landing Batts in Fall 2009. Coming from Long Beach, California, he was widely viewed as a star, credited with lowering crime rates and bringing administrative order to the Long Beach Police Department during the seven years he served as chief. Dellums had reached outside of the Oakland Police Department and tapped a man whose name was being chatted about as a bright light in law enforcement.
Before leading the Long Beach force, Batts worked department for 20 years. Batts is well educated; he holds a doctorate in public administration, a master’s degree in business management and a bachelor of science in law enforcement administration. Batts also holds certifications and awards from a variety of institutes and training courses.
The tale is told often about how Batts initially spurned the city’s advances. A new Oakland police chief was needed after the failed Wayne Tucker era. Batts only agreed to take the Oakland gig, he said, after the Lovell Mixon shooting incident, which left four OPD officers dead.
According to media reports coming out of Long Beach, Batts also may have decided to move up north after it was clear that the Long Beach budget cuts were going to slash the department back to the same level as when he became chief in 2002.
And when he signed on the dotted line, he said he had every intention of ushering in a new era of policing in Oakland and making it one of the safest large cities in California.
Batts was quickly embraced by many in Oakland, including those residents hoping for a fundamental change in the police department.
“I think that what’s unique about this chief is that this guy’s willing to take responsibility,” said Jakada Imani , executive director of the Ella Baker Center and a lifelong Oakland resident. “And a lot of the chiefs that have come and gone haven’t been that stand up. That’s a huge advantage. He’s come in and said, ‘I want to be accountable, I want to be responsible. I’m in it.’”
A challenging city
Crime has been Oakland’s Achilles’ heel for decades. A brief roll call of nationally-known notorious crimes that happened in Oakland includes the Nut Case Killers; the Chauncey Bailey hit allegedly ordered by members of Your Black Muslim Bakery; the Mixon killing of four police officers; and most recently Oscar Grant being shot in the back by BART officer Johannes Mehserle in Fruitvale.
Relations between many communities and the police are mostly chaotic, going generations back. The Black Panthers were able to rise so quickly in Oakland, in part, because they spoke directly about police brutality.
West Oakland resident Bam Morris said relations would continue to be broken as long as the police refuse to acknowledge some of the historical community pain.
“People out here are very frustrated by the police,” Morris said. “The police don’t seem to understand that when they commit brutality or treat these young men as if they’re not human, that there’s going to be repercussions behind that.”
And community distrust of the police continues to run deep especially after the Mehserle verdict. A few young men at the East Oakland Asian Youth Center said there’s constant tension in the street.
“I be (sic) on 35th and Mac sometimes we’re just out there standing there and when the police tell us to leave, we leave, but sometimes, they’ll just put me in the (police) car for no reason,” said Jacob, who asked that his last name not be used.
Peter, 20, who also asked for partial anonymity, said constant patrolling by police officers who are looking for young men not doing right creates an “us-against-them” mentality.
“Basically, it just grows as my not having respect for them as these things keep happening,” Peter said
Olis Simmons, executive director of YouthUprising, said it will take a great amount of work to build a strong, positive relationship between citizens and the city police.
“Oakland police have a long legacy,” she said. “The question really now is with a black chief who really is committed to preventing the genocide of young black men, how does he re-craft the department in this new era and how does he begin to build trust that begins to put the legacy that the police department has of misconduct and brutality in an historical perspective as opposed to a continual ongoing perspective? And I think with Batts, we couldn’t have hired a better person. The question is can we treat him right … can we hold on to him?”.
Another challenge the department has faced historically is it has been understaffed and badly managed before Batts came on the scene. And Oakland is a workhorse police department with quite a heavy load.
“Our workload is second to none with any city in California,” said OPD spokesman Jeff Thomason. “Calls coming in to the Oakland Police Department dispatch center are at around 650,000 every year. If you look at the reports we take for Part One Felony (murder, assault, etc.) we take around 30,000 reports a year.”
Batts was well aware of Oakland’s issues, some of which mirrored problems Long Beach struggled with when he took the helm of that department. But, although OPD was considered understaffed at 803 officers when Batts took over in October 2009, there were some positive signs – including a downward trend happening with murders, assault and other key indicators.
Tomorrow: Oakland Chief Batts prepares game plan for department, city
Acknowledgements: Oakland Local thanks Spot.us, which helped us raise the money to fund this series, Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig for editing these pieces, and Jennifer Inez Ward for all her research and writing.
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When Oakland Local began its project into examining the goals and challenges of new Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts in May we had no idea that a few short months later, the Oakland Police Department would be in such a woeful state.
OPD is now grappling with a series of critical issues including the layoff of 80 police officers and failed negotiations around police pension contribution. As a result of the layoffs, community policing, which plays a big role in Chief Batts’ strategic plan for combating Oakland crime is in tatters. And now there are 44 crimes that OPD says it can no longer respond to including car theft and some robberies. Residents now have to go online to report those specific crimes. Also as a result of the layoffs, the department may see even more police officers laid off as a result of a provision in Measure Y.
Our story will look deep at Batt’s morale, length of his contract, how other cities have faced their issues, and most importantly, what the impact on crime in city neighborhoods is and how the relationship between city government and the OPD is helping or harming public safety yin Oakland.
Meanwhile, the murders keep rolling on. The few successes seen by the Chief since he came aboard almost a year ago seem to be fading fast from public memory and his push to make Oakland a safer city feels at times like a distant goal. Can Oakland Police turn things around despite limited resources and manpower?
If anyone can do it, many Oaklanders say, it’s Chief Batts. But, as of now, it’s unclear if even Batts can overcome such high hurdles.
Posted by Jennifer Ward on 07/16/10
The Public Safety Watch story is without a doubt one of the most important stories I've worked on since I wrote about schools getting phased out in Oakland.
The focus of the news piece is a deep look at the daunting challenges facing Oakland’s new police chief Anthony Batts and his quest to make his five-year strategic plan a success.
It's a challenging, complex assignment with many unique people behind the story. But, at the front and center of this piece is Chief Batts.
If the newly appointed Oakland police chief is shook up from labor unrest, possible layoffs of hundreds of officers, and constant protests connected to his gang injunction proposal, he isn't showing it.
Known for his engaging manner, Batts, who previously oversaw the Long Beach Police Department, was cool as a cucumber at a recent (Thurs.) press conference held at the OPD headquarters on 7th Street. The new chief was all smiles as he greeted reporters and he sounded confident and at ease despite the lurking trouble.
After announcing a 16 percent drop in Oakland crime, he checked off a list of challenges facing the department, including major city budget problems.
Not more than a mile away, activists and local citizens were protesting one of the signature pieces in his five-year strategic plan at the Alameda Courthouse. Inside the courthouse, a judge was weighing the merits of the injunction.*
Gang Injunction push back isn't the only trouble hurdle Batts faces.
City council is scrambling to address a whopping $42 million budget deficit. Any cost savings measures employed will likely affect the police department. On Thursday, Batts said any city budget cuts would mean the department would potentially layoff up to 350 officers.
As a result, Measure Y money is potentially on the cutting block. The city would automatically lose $20 million in annual Measure Y funding if it lays off police officers.
All of these troubling issues create a huge challenge to the Batts plan. And it's why I'm excited to dig into this important Oakland story.
Already Batts has invested a lot of manpower and resources into his plan. If the plan, or most of the plan, delivers on its promises, Batts will be hero number one in Oakland. If, however, the plan stalls out, or just falls apart, Batts is looking at serious credibility issues. Stay tuned.
*Alameda County Superior Court, Judge Robert Freedom said later that day that he planned to approve the injunction.
More than ever, there is a need for citizens to understand how their police department works and what programs could affect their community. When Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts was appointed to lead OPD seven months ago, he promised a new era in city policing--but is that going to happen?
HELP FUND THIS STORY
Oakland Local would like your support to fund coverage of what's happening with the OPD right now, what's working and what's not. Oakland reporters Jennifer Inez Ward and Edwin O'Kongo will work with intern Stephen Allen to take a look at what's working--and what isn't. (If other organizations would like to collaborate on this story, we welcome you, just as we did with the Spot.us Mehserle trial collaboration.)
If you support independent journalism in the Bay area--and care about independent reporting on public safety--this is a project to suppport--Click here to find out more and to donate.
Here's part of Jennifer Ward's brief on the story:
Batts vowed that under his leadership, Oakland would soon see significant changes in crime rates, better police response times, and more collaboration between police and Oakland citizens. In addition, at recent town hall meetings he’s spoken about his desire to bring different communities together to work on entrenched crime issues.
During his short tenure, there have been some notable successes, like the independent report about the Lovelle Mixon shooting, that was unprecedented in its frankness. But, Batts as of late, has seen serious crimes—like the recent unprovoked daytime attack on an 83-year-old Chinese immigrant that lead to his death—happen on Batts’ watch. In addition, some of his strategies for fighting crime, like instituting gang injunctions, have met hard resistance.
A recent visit by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to East Oakland to discuss gang violence, demonstrates the seriousness of crime in many parts of Oakland. At Oakland Local, we want to examine some of the critical challenges facing Batts. Can he deliver his ambitious plans for the city? Will his plan get enough buy-in from citizens, politicians, and fellow police officers to turn Oakland’s crime problem around?
City politics and budget realities aren’t helping Chief Batts. Oakland is struggling with a $25 million budget deficit for this year, including proposed cuts for police. In this election year, some candidates say the issues aren’t how much money Batt’s OPD gets, but how the OPD chooses to spend it.
Much is at stake,whether Batts succeeds or fail in his goals. Many think he may be the city's best hope to slow down crime. More than ever, there is a need for citizens to understand how their police department works and what programs could affect their community.
Bonus: Spot. us is currently testing out a new program where you can sign up and get $5.00 to donate to the story of your choice--check it out here.
From Spot.us founder David Cohn about this new pilot program
In less than 2 minutes and 5 clicks you can help this public safety pitch.....for free! You can raise a free $5 to help us with our campaign to provide promotional videos for inspiring non-profits by simply following the instructions below.
1. Go to www.spot.us and hit "register" in the upper left h and corner.
2. Click the large button that says "Earn Credits"
3. Take the 3 question survey.
4. Your account now has $5 in credits and you'll automatically be directed to a page that lists current Spot.Us projects. Click "Apply Credits" to Public Safety Watch.
If you find the process painless - please spread it around to your friends. Every person that participates in this earns $5!
