Contact: Oakland Police Officers' Association

Phone: (510) 834-9670 

Email: policeofficers@opoa.org

September 7, 2021 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Oakland’s Experiment with Defund the Police is Causing Skyrocketing Violent Crime and a Fast Shrinking Police Department.  

Police Staffing Fell Below 700 for First Time in Six Years.    

OAKLAND – The majority of Oakland’s City Council embraced a “defund the police” strategy that has already ensured more homicides so far in Oakland (88) this year than in all of 2019 (78). With almost four months left in 2021, Oakland is on target to hit decade-high violent crime numbers.    

To make matters worse, the ongoing vilification of Oakland Police Officers by City Council Members has helped drive attrition within the police department. Labor Day total sworn staffing (at all ranks) fell below 700 for the first time in six years. On average, the police department loses ten officers a month, mainly to other agencies where their service is valued, unlike Oakland. The Traffic Division, walking details, some Crime Reduction teams, and Community Resources Units have been disbanded, and fifty five (55) police officer positions frozen.   

“Oakland’s City Council President and her defund the police cohorts are why residents now face extended wait times for police response, why alternatives to police have not been stood up, why violent crime is escalating on our streets, and why hardworking dedicated Oakland Police Officers are choosing to work elsewhere. Its own City Council is driving Oakland’s public safety crisis,” said Oakland Police Officers' Association President Barry Donelan.