Mike Ferro, MOBN! Public Safety Committee

 

At an 11 a.m. press conference on Thursday, February 18, Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts presented a “framework” for his strategy for revamped and more effective policing. He described the strategy as leading towards a “rebirth” of the department.

 

The Department has a new motto: “We will be there when you need us,” reflecting the chief’s intention to reduce emergency response time from the current 15 minute average to five minutes. The new motto also supports the strategic plan’s focus on specific community, which will provide the foundation for department accountability.

 

The strategic plan framework, developed with assistance from Scott Bryant and input from a community survey, department survey and academic experts is here. Chief Batts’ slide-show presentation of the plan is here. While there is some overlap, both documents are well worth a read.

 

The department is seeking community input at meetings scheduled tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the police administration auditorium, 455 7^th Street. Additional meetings will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on March 3 (Montera Middle School, 5555 Ascot Dr.), March 4 (East Oakland Senior Center, 9255 Edes Ave.) 10 (West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline Street), and March 11 (Manzanita Recreation Center, 2701 22nd Ave.) The department is also seeking input through an on-line survey, available here. Once it has received this and other input, the department plans to complete its strategic plan by July 1.

 

At the press conference, Chief Batts pointed out that Oakland’s violent crime rate is nearly twice that of the next most violent large city in California (Sacramento) and over four times that of San Jose. As he has in many community meetings, he described Oakland’s violent crime as a matter of “gangs, drugs and guns.”

 

Working with a San Jose State University research team, the department collected and analyzed data about its own efficacy, citizen attitudes and the attitudes of departmental employees toward the department. The efficacy data, included in the slide show, shows that

 

 

Citizen attitudes about crime are no surprise. Most Oakland citizens (58%) feel that crime has increased in Oakland while only 13% feel it has decreased. Ninety-seven percent of Oaklanders believe violent crime is important is an important issue, but only 53% believe current efforts are adequate.

 

The department’s employees believe they receive insufficient city and community support. Only 26% of police officers and other department employees feel valued by the Oakland community and just 15% believe the department cares about them. Only 18% believe their work units are adequately staffed. Importantly, only 10% feel valued and 7% feel respected by city government. Other indicators of poor morale are these: 67% of officers are proud to be a part of the Department, and 56% are satisfied with their jobs. Chief Batts wants these numbers to be in the 90s.

 

As he has also expressed previously, Chief Batts believes the department is significantly understaffed; further, it typically loses four officers per month. To mitigate the staffing problems, he has begun putting more officers on patrol, moving 30 officers from administrative to street work. He also requires that all officers, whatever their permanent assignments, spend at least one patrol car day per week. He has acquired state-of-the-art technology to analyze patrol officer workload, and over the long term, he supports using more civilians to perform tasks now handled by officers.

 

The department has increased coordination with other city, county and Federal law enforcement. It has also increased sharing and coordination of information within the department and is increasing tactical training. The department’s crime-analysis efforts have become better-coordinated and centralized. It has been working with the schools to reduce truancy and provide gang and drug resistance training in schools.

 

Chief Batts thinks these efforts are already paying off, and he points to overall 30% reductions in serious crime both this month and last. Normally, crime rates fluctuate only 5% or so on a monthly basis, so he thinks theses changes are real.

 

After Chief Batts described his public safety vision for Oakland five years from now, a reporter asked him if he planned to stay in Oakland until his vision is realized in 2015. He replied that he will stay as long as he can help Oakland move forward towards that vision.

 

Mike Ferro, MOBN! Public Safety Committee

 

At an 11 a.m. press conference on Thursday, February 18, Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts presented a “framework” for his strategy for revamped and more effective policing. He described the strategy as leading towards a “rebirth” of the department.

 

The Department has a new motto: “We will be there when you need us,” reflecting the chief’s intention to reduce emergency response time from the current 15 minute average to five minutes. The new motto also supports the strategic plan’s focus on specific community, which will provide the foundation for department accountability.

 

The strategic plan framework, developed with assistance from Scott Bryant and input from a community survey, department survey and academic experts is here. Chief Batts’ slide-show presentation of the plan is here. While there is some overlap, both documents are well worth a read.

 

The department is seeking community input at meetings scheduled tonight at 6:00 p.m. at the police administration auditorium, 455 7^th Street. Additional meetings will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on March 3 (Montera Middle School, 5555 Ascot Dr.), March 4 (East Oakland Senior Center, 9255 Edes Ave.) 10 (West Oakland Senior Center, 1724 Adeline Street), and March 11 (Manzanita Recreation Center, 2701 22nd Ave.) The department is also seeking input through an on-line survey, available here. Once it has received this and other input, the department plans to complete its strategic plan by July 1.

 

At the press conference, Chief Batts pointed out that Oakland’s violent crime rate is nearly twice that of the next most violent large city in California (Sacramento) and over four times that of San Jose. As he has in many community meetings, he described Oakland’s violent crime as a matter of “gangs, drugs and guns.”

 

Working with a San Jose State University research team, the department collected and analyzed data about its own efficacy, citizen attitudes and the attitudes of departmental employees toward the department. The efficacy data, included in the slide show, shows that

 

 

Citizen attitudes about crime are no surprise. Most Oakland citizens (58%) feel that crime has increased in Oakland while only 13% feel it has decreased. Ninety-seven percent of Oaklanders believe violent crime is important is an important issue, but only 53% believe current efforts are adequate.

 

The department’s employees believe they receive insufficient city and community support. Only 26% of police officers and other department employees feel valued by the Oakland community and just 15% believe the department cares about them. Only 18% believe their work units are adequately staffed. Importantly, only 10% feel valued and 7% feel respected by city government. Other indicators of poor morale are these: 67% of officers are proud to be a part of the Department, and 56% are satisfied with their jobs. Chief Batts wants these numbers to be in the 90s.

 

As he has also expressed previously, Chief Batts believes the department is significantly understaffed; further, it typically loses four officers per month. To mitigate the staffing problems, he has begun putting more officers on patrol, moving 30 officers from administrative to street work. He also requires that all officers, whatever their permanent assignments, spend at least one patrol car day per week. He has acquired state-of-the-art technology to analyze patrol officer workload, and over the long term, he supports using more civilians to perform tasks now handled by officers.

 

The department has increased coordination with other city, county and Federal law enforcement. It has also increased sharing and coordination of information within the department and is increasing tactical training. The department’s crime-analysis efforts have become better-coordinated and centralized. It has been working with the schools to reduce truancy and provide gang and drug resistance training in schools.

 

Chief Batts thinks these efforts are already paying off, and he points to overall 30% reductions in serious crime both this month and last. Normally, crime rates fluctuate only 5% or so on a monthly basis, so he thinks theses changes are real.

 

After Chief Batts described his public safety vision for Oakland five years from now, a reporter asked him if he planned to stay in Oakland until his vision is realized in 2015. He replied that he will stay as long as he can help Oakland move forward towards that vision.