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Oakland council prioritizes 12 ways to ‘reimagine’ public safety

May 05, 2021
OAKLAND — When the dust settles from the Oakland City Council’s budget review over the next few weeks, the police department could find itself stripped of many of its duties — and millions of dollars.

Although it likely won’t happen immediately, the police department may stop responding to most mental health crisis calls, do a lot less traffic enforcement, step aside to let an independent commission investigate complaints of officer misconduct or excessive force, and end its practice of acquiring military-type equipment.

By declaring those and other proposed police department changes as top priorities going into the next fiscal year starting July 1, the council signaled its intent to put the city’s money behind its talk of police reform.

The proposed changes were among 12 of the 48 recommended by the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force that the council unanimously agreed Monday to prioritize as it scrutinizes new city budgets soon to be released by Mayor Libby Schaaf and council President Nikki Fortunato Bas.

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The task force, a group of 17 people assigned the mission last summer of figuring out how to cut the police department’s budget in half over the next two years, also came up with ideas to invest in non-police responses and services in an effort to increase public safety.

“The crime we see reported on the news is generally the outcome of decade after decade of resource-lack due to an unsustainable investment of taxpayer dollars into punitive policing,” District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife said in a written statement issued after Monday’s vote. “Today we listened to the community and voted to change course.”

The council earlier this year already put one of the recommendations into play when it agreed to launch a pilot program called Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakland (MACRO). But instead of a one-year pilot program, the task force recommended spending $25 million on the effort over the next three years.

Another priority approved by the council is to create a crisis hotline that’s different from 911 system for people who do not want to contact law enforcement in an emergency.

The council also agreed that spending almost $5 million more for gender-based violence prevention services should be another priority.

Moving most traffic enforcement responsibilities from the police department to the city’s Department of Transportation is another priority, although a change in state law would be required to accomplish some of that overhaul.

The council also threw its support behind an idea proposed by the Oakland Police Commission — end the police department’s use of militarized equipment.

One recommendation the council previously agreed to prioritize was the police commission’s idea of placing only the Community Police Review Agency in charge of investigating officer misconduct and excessive use of force complaints. That would leave the police department’s internal affairs investigators out of the equation.

Other priorities include boosting funding for restorative justice for young people, investing in the Oakland Youth Commission and creating a Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

In addition, the council agreed to prioritize affordable housing and homeless programs by purchasing motels or hotels, providing rental assistance and expanding supportive services.

Fife said during the meeting that rather than abolishing police, investments in areas like housing and violence prevention would make Oakland safer by freeing up police to focus on violent crimes.

“State violence happens when communities are not resourced,” Fife said, adding that without robust funding services to help people, “we will continue to invest in a system that will kill us.”

Fortunato Bas, who co-chaired the Reimagining Public Safety Task Force and co-sponsored Fife’s resolution, said the prioritized recommendations are intended to “reduce situations that could lead to escalation and police violence, provide the most appropriate response to service calls — including those that do not require a sworn, armed police officer — and address the root causes of violence and poverty.”

The council is waiting for Mayor Schaaf to release her recommended budget. Schaaf has said she intends to do so on May 7, six days after the mayor’s budget is supposed to be unveiled under a city ordinance.

After that, Fortunato Bas will present her recommended budget, which will be discussed at a public hearing scheduled for June 17 following town halls hosted in each council district. The council must approve a balanced two-year budget by June 30.

“These recommendations will help ensure Oakland is a leader in re-creating our safety system towards violence prevention and wellness, and to save lives and make our communities safer,” Fotunato Bas said.
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