7 21-0874 Subject: Measure Z Compliance And Hiring Plan Modifications
From: Office Of The City Administrator
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Modifying The City's Hiring Plan For The Purpose Of Ensuring Compliance With Measure Z
We do not need more police to keep our community safe. I’m a north Oakland resident and I am against putting more money and resources into policing. Police don’t prevent crime! We could be putting money towards life affirming resources that would benefit all.
I'm a resident of McClymonds neighborhood in D3 who strongly opposes putting more toward the Oakland Police Department. The issues we're seeing in our city today are because resources aren't being adequately invested into housing and mental healthcare and crisis needs. The City should pursue an exemption to the Measure Z staffing requirement and delay this vote.
I'm a longtime Rockridge resident who strongly opposes putting more resources towards the Oakland Police Department. To make our city safer, we need to be investing more resources directly into our communities, not our police departments. After all, police don't prevent violence — they only respond after the fact or cause it themselves. The safest communities don’t have the most police, they have the most resources. Thank you.
OPD spends the equivalent of 62 officer & 12 Sergeant full time employees responding to noncriminal & nonviolent matters. Only 4% of OPD calls in 2019 were for violent crime. The vast majority of time is spent on things not related to crime like traffic stops, false alarms, towing cars, stray dogs or harassing unhoused people.
The City Council can immediately free up the equivalent of 2 full graduating academies of officers ready to focus on violent crime, saving millions of dollars, by removing noncriminal & nonviolent duties from OPD through legislation.
Councilmember Thao herself said in June, “If I felt that funding a fifth academy would make my son safer, I would vote for it today. Heck, I would vote for 10 more academies if I truly felt as if my son would be protected… But I know that ensuring that our most vulnerable Oaklanders are included in our society & have opportunity is the most effective way to keep my son safe.”
The argument that we need to fund additional academies or risk losing Measure Z funding doesn’t fly. Ed Reiskin has said that the City can likely qualify for an exemption to the Measure Z officer staffing floor given the extraordinary nature of the Covid pandemic. But neither the mayor nor city council have pursued this exemption.
I DEMAND the City Council postpone this vote & pursue an exemption to Measure Z staffing requirement, which the unique nature of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis obviously merits.
There is no police staffing crisis. Police officers do not prevent crime—at best, they respond poorly after crime happens and at worst, they terrorize and traumatize BIPOC community members. Yes, “crime” is rising, but I encourage the members of the city council to think about what causes crime and what is criminalized. Poverty and mental illness are criminalized. Unmet basic needs? Criminalized. Killing civilians with state-sanctioned violence. Certifiably NOT criminalized.
The Anti Police Terror Project just came out with a report showing that the institution of policing does NOT prevent violent crime and is EXTREMELY wasteful. Why is the city council considering pouring even more money into the police when we could be funding programs like Head Start that make a real difference in people’s lives and for our communities?
Even if you don’t think the system of policing is rotten to its core, please realize that it doesn’t do what you want it to do. And please don’t use Measure Z as an excuse to cower behind. You put out a report saying an exemption could be applied for.
Real public safety is about prioritizing the safety of everybody by making sure people have access to food, education, housing, healthcare, etc. We don’t need more killer cops who don’t solve crime in Oakland.
It’s been shown the safest communities don’t have the most cops, they have the most resources. That’s where we need to work. Things are starkly wrong.
Police do NOT prevent violence, police response is after the fact. More policing will not make people more safe. These hard times we are in don’t prove we need more policing, they show us how much we need another way forward where we take care of human needs and address root causes. We have a long way to go.
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.
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.
City Council - postpone this vote and pursue an exemption to Measure Z staffing requirement.
True community safety comes from meeting the needs of our most vulnerable community members. That means housing, jobs, schools, mental health care, and violence prevention. This is the work.
I make this comment as an Oakland voter and property tax payer. 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. It is very clear that we don’t need new “academies” to address a putative surge in violent crime; we need to cleverly re-direct our current expenditures to prioritize OTHER responses to noncriminal and nonviolent issues. Currently OPD receives about $350 million every year, which is almost half of the general fund.
Thank you,
Respectfully,
Monique Doryland
2134 - 42nd Avenue
Oakland, CA 94601
I was at the Lake last Sunday. Police were there, as they always are. They did nothing to stop the initial burglary or the attempted second, both of which were in their line of sight. Had they, Eric would be alive today. Had they helped Eric within the first seven minutes, Eric may well be here with us today. Instead, bystanders ran to help. Police were across the street and stayed there for seven long minutes. Police do not prevent crime, they respond to it. And in Oakland, they respond too late.
We do not need more police to keep our community safe. I’m a north Oakland resident and I am against putting more money and resources into policing. Police don’t prevent crime! We could be putting money towards life affirming resources that would benefit all.
I'm a resident of McClymonds neighborhood in D3 who strongly opposes putting more toward the Oakland Police Department. The issues we're seeing in our city today are because resources aren't being adequately invested into housing and mental healthcare and crisis needs. The City should pursue an exemption to the Measure Z staffing requirement and delay this vote.
I'm a longtime Rockridge resident who strongly opposes putting more resources towards the Oakland Police Department. To make our city safer, we need to be investing more resources directly into our communities, not our police departments. After all, police don't prevent violence — they only respond after the fact or cause it themselves. The safest communities don’t have the most police, they have the most resources. Thank you.
OPD spends the equivalent of 62 officer & 12 Sergeant full time employees responding to noncriminal & nonviolent matters. Only 4% of OPD calls in 2019 were for violent crime. The vast majority of time is spent on things not related to crime like traffic stops, false alarms, towing cars, stray dogs or harassing unhoused people.
The City Council can immediately free up the equivalent of 2 full graduating academies of officers ready to focus on violent crime, saving millions of dollars, by removing noncriminal & nonviolent duties from OPD through legislation.
Councilmember Thao herself said in June, “If I felt that funding a fifth academy would make my son safer, I would vote for it today. Heck, I would vote for 10 more academies if I truly felt as if my son would be protected… But I know that ensuring that our most vulnerable Oaklanders are included in our society & have opportunity is the most effective way to keep my son safe.”
The argument that we need to fund additional academies or risk losing Measure Z funding doesn’t fly. Ed Reiskin has said that the City can likely qualify for an exemption to the Measure Z officer staffing floor given the extraordinary nature of the Covid pandemic. But neither the mayor nor city council have pursued this exemption.
I DEMAND the City Council postpone this vote & pursue an exemption to Measure Z staffing requirement, which the unique nature of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis obviously merits.
There is no police staffing crisis. Police officers do not prevent crime—at best, they respond poorly after crime happens and at worst, they terrorize and traumatize BIPOC community members. Yes, “crime” is rising, but I encourage the members of the city council to think about what causes crime and what is criminalized. Poverty and mental illness are criminalized. Unmet basic needs? Criminalized. Killing civilians with state-sanctioned violence. Certifiably NOT criminalized.
The Anti Police Terror Project just came out with a report showing that the institution of policing does NOT prevent violent crime and is EXTREMELY wasteful. Why is the city council considering pouring even more money into the police when we could be funding programs like Head Start that make a real difference in people’s lives and for our communities?
Even if you don’t think the system of policing is rotten to its core, please realize that it doesn’t do what you want it to do. And please don’t use Measure Z as an excuse to cower behind. You put out a report saying an exemption could be applied for.
Real public safety is about prioritizing the safety of everybody by making sure people have access to food, education, housing, healthcare, etc. We don’t need more killer cops who don’t solve crime in Oakland.
Writing in from D4.
It’s been shown the safest communities don’t have the most cops, they have the most resources. That’s where we need to work. Things are starkly wrong.
Police do NOT prevent violence, police response is after the fact. More policing will not make people more safe. These hard times we are in don’t prove we need more policing, they show us how much we need another way forward where we take care of human needs and address root causes. We have a long way to go.
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.
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.
City Council - postpone this vote and pursue an exemption to Measure Z staffing requirement.
True community safety comes from meeting the needs of our most vulnerable community members. That means housing, jobs, schools, mental health care, and violence prevention. This is the work.
To the Board of Supervisors:
I make this comment as an Oakland voter and property tax payer. 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. It is very clear that we don’t need new “academies” to address a putative surge in violent crime; we need to cleverly re-direct our current expenditures to prioritize OTHER responses to noncriminal and nonviolent issues. Currently OPD receives about $350 million every year, which is almost half of the general fund.
Thank you,
Respectfully,
Monique Doryland
2134 - 42nd Avenue
Oakland, CA 94601
I was at the Lake last Sunday. Police were there, as they always are. They did nothing to stop the initial burglary or the attempted second, both of which were in their line of sight. Had they, Eric would be alive today. Had they helped Eric within the first seven minutes, Eric may well be here with us today. Instead, bystanders ran to help. Police were across the street and stayed there for seven long minutes. Police do not prevent crime, they respond to it. And in Oakland, they respond too late.