Yearly Archives: 2014

Public Safety / Transparency / Accountability

Guest Post: Numbers And Nonsense In Oakland’s Search for Public Safety

Make Oakland Better Now! has started a 10 part series on strategies for making Oakland better, and we will be continuing with that soon.  But others have good ideas as well, and we want to share some.   The ideas in this guest post are those of Steve Spiker. A self-described urbanist, technologist, photographer and husband and father, almost new home owner, he is the Research Director for Urban Strategies.    His blog, where this post first appeared, is here.  

Oakland is once again talking about data and facts concerning crime, causes and policing practices, except we’re not really. We’re talking about an incredibly thin slice of a big reality, a thin slice that’s not particularly helpful, revealing nor empowering. And this is how we always do it.

Chip Johnson is raising the flag on our lack of a broad discussion about the complexity of policing practices and the involvement of African-Americans in the majority of serious crimes in our city, and on that I say he’s dead right, these are hard conversations and we’ve not really had them openly. The problem is, the data we’re given as the public (and our decision makers have about the same) is not sufficient to plan with, make decisions from nor understand much at all.  Once again we’re given a limited set of summary tables that present just tiny nuances of reality and that do not allow for any actual analyses by the public nor by policy makers. And if you believe that internal staff get richer analysis and research to work with you’re largely wrong.

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6 Comments
April 26, 2014
10 Strategies to Improve Oakland

Ten Strategies to Make Oakland Better: (2) Ask The People Who Live and Work Here

Ten Strategies to Make Oakland Better

But first, a reminder: Join MOBN!, MGO, nine mayoral candidates and more than 200 of your fellow Oaklanders at the mayoral candidate public safety debate on Thursday, April 3, 2014, 6:30 p.m. at Temple Sinai. See the original announcement here. Owing to some technical problems at Eventbrite, some Oaklanders have received the message that they can’t RSVP without selecting membership in either MOBN! or MGO. Some have received the message that the event is “sold out.” Our publicist has fixed both these problems; the debate is open to all Oaklanders, not just MOBN! and MGO members, and while enthusiasm is mounting, the debate is certainly not “sold out” ( the synagogue holds 750 people). And RSVP’s are appreciated, but not essential. So RSVP if you can, but either way, please join us.

And Now, Strategy Two:

Ask The People Who Live And Work Here

Make Oakland Better Now! was established to advocate for public safety, public works, government transparency, accountability and budget Reform. Often, however, we are recognized simply as advocates for increasing the size of the Police Department. While we stand by our position that Oakland desperately needs 925 sworn officers, much more is needed to make Oakland the city its residents want and deserve. This is the second installment in our ten part series on steps Oakland can and should take to make this a better, safer and more sustainable city. For our second strategy, we advocate well-designed, regular polling of Oakland’s citizens, sworn and civilian employees.

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4 Comments
March 31, 2014
Mayor / Public Safety / Uncategorized

Public Safety Mayoral Candidate Debate Protocol

Make Oakland Better Now! and MGO are expecting more than 200 people at the mayoral candidate public safety debate on Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 6:30 p.m. at Temple Sinai. See the original announcement here, and RSVP here. We have notified all of the participating candidates of the protocol and ground rules, and here is what we have told them:

 

Dear Mayoral Candidates:

Thanks to all of you for agreeing to participate in the MGO / MOBN! Mayoral Candidate Public Safety Debate, which as we have advised, will take place on Thursday, April 3 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Temple Sinai. We look forward to the contributions each of you make toward the public dialog about what it takes to make Oakland safer.

Our debate committee, journalist panelists and moderator have met, and agreed on the following protocol and ground rules:

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1 Comment
March 27, 2014
10 Strategies to Improve Oakland

Ten Strategies to Make Oakland Better: (1) Start Honest Discussion about Finances

Ten Strategies to Make Oakland Better

Strategy One: Start an Honest Discussion About Oakland’s Financial Condition

Make Oakland Better Now! was established to advocate for public safety, public works, government transparency, accountability and budget Reform. Often, however, we are recognized simply as advocates for increasing the size of the Police Department. While we stand by our position that Oakland desperately needs 925 sworn officers, much more is needed to make Oakland the city its residents want and deserve. Today, we begin a ten part series on steps Oakland can and should take to make this a better, safer and more sustainable city. For our first strategy, we advocate clear statements from City leadership and a definitive, inarguable agreement about Oakland’s financial obligations and how they will be paid.

Here is a challenge for any resident of the City Oakland: Do Oakland’s anticipated  expenditures over the next four years exceed its projected revenues?  If so, by how much? What is the City going to do about it?

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4 Comments
March 20, 2014
Uncategorized

Plaintiffs’ Counsel From the NSA Responds To MOBN Post

Last month, Make Oakland Better Now! published board member Paula Hawthorn’s analysis of the latest report by monitor Robert Warshaw, observing that Warshaw continued to find Oakland and its police department out of compliance with the NSA for acts and omissions not covered by the Court’s order.  As one example, Ms. Hawthorn observed that the monitor was citing officers’ failure to activate their video cameras, cameras that didn’t exist when the NSA was issued by the Federal Court.
 
Attorney Jim Chanin, who with John Burris represents the plaintiffs, requested an opportunity to respond, and we agreed.  His views follow:

 

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2 Comments
March 5, 2014
Uncategorized

The Negotiated Settlement Agreement, Two Years And Millions Of Dollars Later

MOBN! Board member Paula Hawthorn checks in with her review of the latest Monitor’s report.

Two years ago I wrote this about the Negotiated Settlement Agreement:

I have reviewed the fourth, sixth, seventh and eighth (current) Quarterly Reports of the Independent Monitor. … In the four reports that I reviewed, there were six tasks that OPD is always in “partial compliance”: tasks 5, 20, 24, 34, 41 and 45. They were in partial compliance, I maintain that they will remain in partial compliance in future reports, and thus OPD will end up in receivership.

In fact, we did wind up in “receivership light” with a Compliance Director (in addition to the Independent Monitor assigned to monitor the NSA) who is tasked with bringing OPD into compliance with the NSA. The Monitor is Robert S. Warshaw, the Compliance Director Thomas C. Frazier. Frazier gets an annual salary of $270,000 and Warshaw has a two year, $1.78 million contract.  As our Compliance Director, Frazier directs that money be spent to bring OPD into compliance with the NSA. Frazier’s Remedial Action Plan Budget Addendum calls for $3,605,000 to be spent on the police department itself.. So the combined cost of the NSA monitor & compliance director for the last year is $1,160.000 plus Frazier’s $3.65M in ordered City spending.

And what do we have to show for this? How closer is OPD to being in compliance with the NSA after this amount of time & money? Surprise! No Closer!

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14 Comments
February 10, 2014
Uncategorized

Strategic Policy Partners Returning To Oakland For “Do-Over” of Crime Reduction Plan

Make Oakland Better Now! was getting ready to post Part Three in its series on the SPP/Wasserman report (the first two are here and here.  Then, we learned from this past weekend’s Oakland Tribune that Mr. Wasserman is returning to Oakland to finish the job that was started.  We are pleased to hear this. And in this post, we give our views on what the next steps should be for Mr. Wasserman, for SPP and for the City of Oakland.

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4 Comments
January 28, 2014