Oakland Mayor, Police Chief discuss public safety at Laney College Summit

In the wake of an officer-involved shooting, the City of Oakland recently hosted a summit focused on policing and public safety at Laney College. Mayor Libby Schaaf and Chief Sean Whent outlined their vision for “community safety.”

“My number one priority is holistic community safety,” Schaaf said. Improved technology (like Predictive Policing and Shotspotter), programs like Ceasefire, and increasing police staffing would reduce crime in Oakland, she said. Schaaf’s proposed budget would increase OPD’s authorized sworn police force from 722 to 762 officers. Her administration’s goal is to increase the force to 800, including slots for graduates of Oakland’s public schools.

OPD wants growth too, Whent said, but police understaffing has led to changes in how the department enforces the law and measures success.

“You can’t measure success by how many people you put in jail, but by kids being able to ride their bikes, or an old lady being able to go get groceries,” Whent said. “You can more effectively handle crime without waging war on the community.”

Throwing extra police has not solved issues and only makes the department appear “incompetent or corrupt,” he said. He added OPD hopes to resolve the number one complaint of 911 cell phone calls not going directly to police. He also plans to use asset seizure money to update beat jurisdictions, last updated in 1977.

When asked about Proposition 21, Schaaf began discussing "Prop. 48," likely an erroneous reference to the 2014 ballot initiative Prop. 47. Chief Whent responded OPD is focusing on younger youth but does not want police involved in truancy or getting youth into the system.

When asked how she supported equitable economic development when such a large percentage of the city budget was allocated to police, she debated the percentage, adding that other California cities spend more of their general funds on public safety. Opposed to 40 percent, Schaaf claimed OPD spends just 32 percent of the city budget.

A legal settlement following "The Riders" scandal in 2003 led the police department to agree to 51 reforms. Whent said police only have three of the 51 original reforms left. Whent added he supported civilianization of some police functions, like the management of OPD’s fleet of 500 cars.

The June 6 summit at Laney started late without explanation. It turns out that the OPD shooting of Demouria Hogg on the other side of Lake Merritt that morning may be related.

Neither Schaaf nor Whent mentioned the shooting at the event. Event facilitators did not accept a question from the author about the shooting or the protest curfew ordinance OPD began enforcing in May.

The summit continued with workshops ranging from Violence Prevention, "Data-driven policing," home security systems, Restorative Justice, Procedural Justice, Ceasefire and others. Only pre-registrants were allowed to attend, despite a city website malfunction that shut down the registration.

A protested planned for the morning did not interrupt the summit.

This article originally appeared on Onyx Express