Rockridge Shares Oakland Crime Issues

One theme that clearly emerged in a high-energy town hall meeting on Oakland crime Saturday was that Rockridge crime issues parallel those plaguing many other parts of the city.

Comments from residents of Rockridge and other parts of Oakland showed common ground in the crimes themselves, such as robberies, home break-ins and theft from autos, and the recommendations for how to cope, including closer neighborhood communication, increased police presence and a friendlier police attitude.

Another marked theme in the three-hour-plus gathering of nearly 200 people at Beebe Memorial Cathedral at 3900 Telegraph Ave. was a growing optimism among city leaders for the city's ability to deal with crime, which Mayor Jean Quan told the audience is her administration's "number one issue at this point."

The gathering was the fourth in a series of town hall meetings organized by the city to gather "input from neighbors across the city on public safety priorities to incorporate into a comprehensive crime reduction and suppression strategic plan," according to the city's announcement of the meetings.

Development of the plan is being coordinated by a consulting firm hired by the city, Strategic Policy Partnership, which includes the former police chief of New York and Los Angeles, Bill Bratton. The firm's head, Robert Wasserman, was the main speaker Saturday, stressing the primacy of community commitment in solving the crime problem.

City Councilman Dan Kalb, whose District 1 includes Rockridge, said he was heartened by recent progress, including the "very inspiring" graduation of a new police academy class the day before. That class brought the department's sworn strength up to 649, still far short of the 837 in December 2008.

"What I've seen in the past few months is increased attention, increased dedication, increased action and most importantly – and I saw this yesterday as well – an increased optimism," Kalb said.

Police Chief Howard Jordan also struck an optimistic note, citing a “dramatic decrease” in violent crime, particularly shootings and murders in East Oakland, which he credited to “Operation Ceasefire,” a policing strategy that involves contact with gang leaders and promises assistance for cooperation and a crackdown on continued crime. He also noted that police strength  will increase further with another police academy class graduating in September.

“Things are on the rise,” Jordan said. “The city has invested a lot of money and effort into staffing the police department.”

Still, there’s a serious police shortage, Wasserman said.

“The police are understaffed,” Wasserman said. “The level of police officers in Oakland against the amount of violent crime is, I believe, the lowest in the United States from what I’ve seen. … It’s a very serious problem. It’s beginning to change. The recruit class here yesterday … is a very important thing, (and) another one that’s coming up. But there are a lot of other things that have to happen.

“There’s no question that more officers are needed. There’s an extreme workload of 911 calls. People in Oakland call the police for all sorts of help, way beyond what the resources are that are available. And what that means is that police officers on beats in the city are commonly just running from call to call to call. They’re always going someplace, and often outside of the neighborhood to which they’re assigned. And that’s a big problem. And that has to change.”

Wasserman’s firm is collecting the input and working with the police department and city agencies to come up with a crime-fighting plan that he said he hopes to be able to present in three to four months.

He emphasized the need for close collaboration between the community and police.

"The answer to the problem in Oakland is not just the police,” he said. “It is the community. I hear a number of things here. I hear a lot of people who say, yes, we have a real crime problem – we have to do something about it.”

Wasserman said he also hears many people say nothing is ever going to change, an attitude that he said should be and can be rejected.

“We have to get to a tipping point,” he said. “And this is the beginning of that process where it’s not that it will never change. We get to the sense that all of us – everybody in this room – says, ‘It’s gonna change!’ And everybody says, ‘I’m going to be a part of that change.’ That’s the challenge.”

After Wasserman and other speakers addressed the gathering in the church sanctuary, attendees divided into seven groups organized geographically by police beats in the city to share responses to four questions:

1. What crime do you experience in your neighborhood?
2. What would you like the see the police do differently?
3. What can you and your community do differently?
4. If you were an Oakland police officer, what would you do to win the trust and support of the people of Oakland?

Many of the answers provided in group for beat 12, which overlaps with Rockridge, echoed those presented in other groups, as was seen at the end of the gathering when reports from each group were presented.

Though some crimes like burglaries were mentioned in all groups, some crimes, like shootings, seemed to be concentrated in specific areas.

The majority of groups recognized the importance of greater neighborhood involvement, including participation in neighborhood watch groups and the local Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council.

And virtually all of the groups wanted more police presence in their neighborhoods, with police taking time to get to know the neighborhood, talking to residents and business owners, being friendlier and showing respect for all citizens.

Some complained of slow or non-existent police responses. One resident said his neighborhood is still waiting for police to investigate a robbery that happened six months earlier and that no officer responded to his report of a bullet hole in his car to see if the bullet could be located.

Jim Blachman, who lives in the Broadway Terrace neighborhood and is a board member of Make Oakland Better Now, received audience applause when he said, “We feel the department is doing a good job, given the situation they have.”

Lee Edwards, chair of the Temescal Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council, brought a list of eight recommendations adopted by the council on Wednesday, starting with more police officers and including community policing, surveillance cameras that don't violate civil liberties and more jobs in Oakland.

Kalb said the public can continue to contribute to the city’s anti-crime push.

“This is not the last opportunity to have input into this process, so if you have other ideas, if you know people who couldn’t make it here today, please contact the city.”

Wasserman said a website will be opened shortly for receiving public comments and hosting a “regular dialogue.”

Quan reminded the gathering that another town hall meeting is scheduled for next month. It will be held at 10 a.m. on April 27 at the Cesar Chavez Education Center, 2825 International Blvd. The city also plans to hold a youth outreach meeting on the issue in coordination with organizations serving young people, she said.

After the meeting, which ran past its three-hour scheduled time, Joe DeVries of the city administrator’s office told Patch that all of the town meetings so far have run late because of keen public interest.

“People wanted to be heard,” he said. “They wanted to listen. People really care.”

He said 136 people had signed in at the registration desks for Saturday’s meeting. A rough count by Patch indicated that nearly 200 people were at the event, including a sizeable number of city employees, police officers and volunteers who helped serve snacks and coordinate the gathering.

DeVries said 176 people had registered at the March 20 town hall meeting at Castlemont High School, and that 129 signed in for the March 9 gathering at West Oakland Middle School.

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