It was just this week when two rival gangs opened fire in the middle of the Juneteenth celebrations at Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, leaving one person dead and seven more in the hospital. That came on top of reports of rising rates of both violent crime and property crime in other parts of the city. So what did the Oakland City Council decide to do in response? On Thursday night they voted to slash the police budget by 17 million dollars, choosing to redirect that money toward other “community intervention” services. This latest bit of insanity is only adding fuel to a fire that has been burning in the city for several years now, but the problems have been exacerbated by increasing gang violence as the city comes out of lockdown. (CBS San Francisco)
The Oakland City Council approved a budget early Thursday evening that will strip $17.4 million in funding from the Oakland Police Department and direct the money toward other programs.
The $18 million is over the course of the next two years.
There was some expectation that the council would delay the controversial decision but, by a vote of 7-2, the Oakland City Council approved a plan that will redirect the funds from the police department to the Department of Violence Prevention with the intention of improving public safety.
The Oakland PD is already 50 officers short of its minimum staffing level. They estimate that these cuts will require them to shed an additional fifty officers. Also, part of the funding being diverted was supposed to pay for new classes at the police academy. This will further hinder their efforts to maintain order.
The reallocated money would go toward hiring more civilian “violence interrupters and community ambassadors” who would theoretically replace some of the cops on the beat. They all work under the city’s Department of Violence Prevention, which unfortunately is more worried about stopping the cops from using any sort of force than dealing with the violent criminals roaming the streets.
Since 2015, I’ve found plenty to criticize about Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, a liberal icon that has been discussed in Democratic circles as a possible Senate candidate or even a run for governor at some point. But in this matter, she seems to be showing some admirable sensibility. Schaaf was alarmed at the prospect of losing even more officers and increasing response times for 911 calls. She released a statement to that effect prior to the vote.
“Unfortunately, it [the budget] also cuts 50 police officers who respond to Oaklanders’ 911 calls and enforce traffic safety. It also cuts much-needed future academies, which will significantly reduce police staffing and delay response to Oaklanders in their time of crisis,” Schaaf’s statement read in part. “It will force our officers to work even more overtime shifts, which are expensive and unsafe for officers and residents alike.”
“I believe that until we have proven alternatives, we cannot destroy Oakland’s current public safety system at a time when we are losing so many to gun violence,” the mayor added.
Unfortunately, Oakland instituted a “weak mayor” governmental structure many years ago. The mayor can break a tie vote on City Council but does not have the power to veto its decisions. But even if she could, the vote was 7-2, so they would likely have overridden the veto anyway. The two votes against the budget came from the council members representing neighborhoods with the highest crime rates and gang activity.
It would appear that nothing will stop this plan from moving forward at this point. And Oakland will continue to attempt to “transfer duties” away from police officers. Ask the people who were at the Merritt Lake Juneteenth festival how that’s been working out so far. Or at least ask the ones that survived.
