Dr. Margarita Rosa, Oakland Resident: Vacant positions in the Oakland Police Department should remain vacant, even if they've been funded and approved. The "staffing mandates" are an artificial goalpost for the department, and do not represent community needs. What we see here is a dissatisfaction with the job among former officers, and we should not therefore fund the training for more police officers who will then leave onto careers that better serve the Oakland community. We should instead recognize that the Oakland Police budget can be significantly reduced so that roles that actually prevent or interrupt crime are funded by the city.

Pursue this exemption to the Measure Z funding cutoff! Libby Schaaf and Councilmembers Thao, Taylor and Reid must stop using the threat (of losing Measure Z funding) as a cudgel to drive Oaklanders into vastly increasing funding for police--in clear contravention of Oakland's overwhelming support for defunding police. (Only a tiny percentage of police work deals with crimes of violence, and then only by responding, not preventing.) Oaklanders want money spent in reinvesting in community and in resources that will actually decrease harm and ameliorate the desperation that fosters street crime (which BTW is only a small percentage, in terms of dollars and harm, of the crime in the suites that Oaklanders suffer.) City Administrator Ed Reiskin said in September that the City can likely qualify for an exemption to the Measure Z officer staffing floor — given the extraordinary nature of the Covid pandemic. The mayor and city council have so far refused to pursue this exemption. What's the obstruction? Make it happen!
Chris Taaffe
Teacher, East Oakland

I am a resident of West Oakland District 3 and I strong oppose this measure. Increasing police offers does not prevent violence. Studies on public safety show that increasing police presence does not have a significant impact on violent crime. Police do not prevent harm from occurring, they show up after the harm has already been done. We need more resources towards community based programs such as affordable housing, jobs, mental health services, and education. Funding these services and programs is how we support our communities in thriving, NOT by throwing more money at policing. City council, please postpone this vote and pursue an exemption to the Measure Z staffing requirements.

I am a resident of District 1 and I strongly oppose this measure. Investing more in our police force will to little to prevent the kinds of violent crimes that this measure seeks to address. For example, last year, OPD cleared just 1 out of every 6 violent crimes in our city - throwing more money at this failing institution is a waste of our city's resources. I urge our council members to take the bold, necessary actions to put our city's resources towards investments that are proven to prevent violent crime, including housing, jobs, schools, and mental health care.

I am a resident of District 1 who strongly opposes allocating more resources to the Oakland Police Department. Stop putting more funding towards policing -- put those resources towards root-cause solutions that actually prevent violence, which includes housing, jobs, schools, mental health care, and violence prevention. The City should delay this vote and pursue an exemption to the Measure Z staffing requirements.

D4 resident voicing my opposition to funding more police academies when the data shows that police do not prevent violence. Chief Armstrong even said that we can't police our way out of this. We need our money to go to resourcing communities. This is not a question of officer staffing shortages — it’s about the waste, mismanagement, corruption and incompetence of the Oakland Police Department.
We DEMAND the City Council postpone this vote and pursue an exemption to Measure Z staffing requirement, which the unique nature of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis obviously merits. Like the so-called officer staffing crisis itself, it appears the Measure Z issue is largely artificial. It’s a political choice — and a bad one.
We DEMAND the City Council postpone this vote and pursue an exemption to Measure Z staffing requirement, which the unique nature of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis obviously merits. Like the so-called officer staffing crisis itself, it appears the Measure Z issue is largely artificial. It’s a political choice — and a bad one. There have been widespread reports of vaccine hesitancy and refusal among law enforcement, including in Oakland, which no doubt has played a role in recent resignations. There was a spike in officer attrition in October, when the city’s new vaccine mandate was announced, and the mandate took effect on November 29 — the same day the mayor announced that OPD had fallen below the Measure Z staffing floor.

I am a resident of District 2 in Oakland and strongly oppose providing more money to OPD. The roots of the problems in Oakland will not be solved by increasing the OPD budget. This money is desperately needed to fund schools, community programs, jobs, housing, and mental health care to improve the livelihood and well being of Oakland communities who know how to take care of themselves and each other. The pandemic has put immense stress on these communities and investing in the Police who have only cleared 17% of violent crimes in the last year will only worsen the challenges our community is facing. As a school Social Worker at an Oakland school I see first hand the need to support the youth and their families rather than funding OPD who already receives almost $350 million per year.

I am a resident of D4 in the Montclair neighborhood and I strongly oppose giving more funds to OPD. They have a track record of being unable to fill the existing open officer vacancies with the current budget and their existing officers do not interrupt or deter crime happening at sideshows or at Lake Merritt and robberies in the hills. The citizens of Oakland have had our eyes open to the charade and refuse to be threatened into giving more money to OPD. Police respond days after crimes happen and their solve rate is abysmal. We need to give funds to efforts that actually resource the Oakland community, reduce poverty, improve economic mobility, and reduce the reasons why people commit crimes. Let’s direct funds towards solutions that are actually proven to reduce crime. The voters in Oakland will continue to vote out pro-cop candidates and elect-in council members who are truly progressive. We will remember who voted for police increases instead of giving more money to community resources.

I am a North Oakland resident who stongly oposses this measure. OPD has already had a 38 million dollar budget increase this year. Clearly throwing more money their way in not solving the problem especially considering that OPD is having a hard time retaining officers. In exit interviews, poor leadership has been the main cause of officers leaving for other departments. Why are we throwing more money at training officers when there is a high chance that they will still leave.

Police do not prevent violent crime. We need to fund out social services that desperatley need the support so our communities are safe.

I am a resident and mental health provider here in District 3. As violence spikes nationwide during the ongoing pandemic, the worst possible solution to this economic crisis would be giving even more money to OPD while the city does almost nothing to provide services to ease the desperate poverty that’s at the root of gun violence. This issue isn't a question of police staffing shortages, it's about OPD's waste, mismanagement, corruption and incompetence, and the City’s failure to invest in Oaklanders. Oakland police only cleared 17% of violent crimes last year. That’s just 1 out of every 6 violent crimes in the Town. Yet they receive almost $350 million every year — by far the biggest item in the budget, almost HALF the general fund. Providing health and human services would be an evidence-based approach to decreasing crime, so please stop investing in police and instead start investing funds into human health and services for Oaklanders.

I strongly oppose this measure. Research shows that communities see reduction in crime and increase in thriving when money is invested in community-based programs, not policing. This bill fabricates a false correlation between crime and the need for policing. Don't fall for this trick again.

I am a resident of the Fruitvale neighborhood in Oakland. Providing more money to OPD is the opposite of what we need. OPD only cleared 17% of violent crime last year - what are we getting for our investment of $350 million? Let's invest the funds in community-based programs that actually keep us safe and that provide care and opportunity for our residents. Do not increase the OPD budget. Defund OPD.

I am in strong opposition to additional funding for OPD. The already incredibly large OPD budget is at the root of many of the problems in Oakland today. We are underfunding our schools, public health, employment programs, and so much more just to continually increase police budgets. The already huge police force is not resolving crime, not keeping people safe and not acting as a deterrent. More of the same is a formula for disaster. We need to invest in our underfunded Black and Brown communities and provide alternative prevention and crisis intervention services that do not involve the police. As a mental health volunteer I have seen that the community desperately wants and needs these services, not more police. Please stop with these knee-jerk responses to communities who are hurting. Please make real investments in community mental health, education, housing and healthcare. Those things are what we really need.

I oppose using more City resources to hire additional OPD officers. Studies on public safety and violent crime consistently show that investments in policing do not have a significant impact on violent crime rates. In addition, we have hundreds of officers spending time responding to nonviolent complaints. We could shift resources so more of the police budget is dedicated to solving VIOLENT crime, not harassing Black and brown Oaklanders. The last police academy only managed to recruit 32 cadets and will only graduate 26. OPD couldn't even fill its first academy this fiscal year, what makes them think they can fill 5 next fiscal year? Regarding Measure Z, City Administrator Ed Reiskin said in September that the City can likely qualify for an exemption to the Measure Z officer staffing floor — given the extraordinary nature of the pandemic. The mayor and City Council have so far refused to pursue this exemption. In summation, throwing more resources at OPD will not help with violent crime and is not necessary to keep the Measure Z funding.

Strongly oppose. Stop wasting money on OPD and reinvest it in community programs that address social and economic inequities. Throwing more money and resources at an infective OPD hasn’t solved the issue before so why do you keep trying a failed solution?! Invest in our community not OPD

I am concerned with the consequences of luring in law enforcement from outside communities to police our Black and Brown communities. The presence of law enforcement does not signify safety to Oakland communities especially because law enforcement brings brutality and aggression that will exacerbate the growing violence. Do not bring in more law enforcement. Our community needs healing and actual investment in the residents.

I am a resident of Rockridge in District 1, and I strongly oppose using city resources to hire additional police officers. Police officers do not prevent violence and crime. At best, the police can respond to crime, and the Oakland Police Department has not proved effective at response. The City of Oakland needs solutions that address the root cause of crime: poverty and instability. City resources should be used for economic development, job training, affordable housing, childcare services, and other programs that actually make our community safer.

As an Oakland resident who is deeply committed to my community, I ask that the City Council postpone this vote and pursue an exemption to the Measure Z staffing requirement, which the unique nature of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis merits. Thank you for considering my comments.

I am a Rockridge resident and oppose this use of funding. Data from the Reimagining Task Force shows that at least 31% of officers’ time responding to 911 calls is spent on noncriminal and nonviolent issues, such as animal control, blight, welfare checks, general inquiries, mental health, and traffic. These are functions for which we do not need armed law enforcement officers — and for which OPD is often unqualified. In other words, OPD currently spends, at minimum, the equivalent of 62 officer full time employees (FTE) and 12 Sergeant FTE responding to noncriminal and nonviolent matters.

The cost of OPD’s time responding to noncriminal and nonviolent calls is roughly $17.4 million per year just in OPD’s Field Bureaus.

Removing these responsibilities from OPD would immediately free up more officers than funding two additional academies or hiring lateral officers — without any of their significant costs or delays. Thus the City could save several million dollars more by avoiding unnecessary police academies and signing bonuses.

Increasing the OPD budget is not the solution to violent crime in Oakland. Increasing our budget for social and other services is the answer. We strongly disagree with any further increase to OPD’s budget and want to see more resources moved toward the mental and physical health of our residents, prevention of toxic materials going through our city by way of rail, truck and ship (particularly through historically disadvantaged neighborhoods) and supporting the needs of our unhoused population. In addition we would like to see issues that are now seen as police issues moved out of OPD, such as animal control, blight, welfare checks, general inquiries, mental health, and traffic control/stops. Please do not let the disturbing increase in the homicide rate derail our ability to follow through on imagining a city that decreases police violence (and overall violence) by limiting the interactions between police with guns and city residents, and increases support for our most vulnerable residents. Thank you.
KL McGIll and GD Stroud
District 2

I am a resident of the Santa Fe neighborhood in N. Oakland and oppose the use of increasing the budget of the Oakland Police Department. While I understand the legitimate concern of increased violent crime in Oakland, I am deeply concerned about the long term return on investment of this budget increase. Study after study have demonstrated that the poverty rate is the strongest direct correlation to increased crime in a community. Adding police does nothing to address poverty. If we want to create a better Oakland, more resources need to be committed to improved access to good jobs through skills training and apprenticeships, more housing that is affordable to those at the lowest incomes, and more opportunities for youth to feel engaged in the community (sports, arts, etc). Delay the vote on measure Z staffing requirement and request an exemption.
Thank you!