Public Safety Committee
January 11, 2022
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and FROM: Edward D. Reiskin
City Council City Administrator
SUBJECT: Public Safety Budget Policy
Directives
DATE: December 22, 2021
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive an Informational Report on the Implementation of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-23 City Council Public Safety Budget Policy Directives, Including Status of Conducting (1) An Analysis of Calls for Service and Recommendations to Transfer Certain Calls to Alternative Response by April 2022, (2) An Independent Audit of the Police Department by December 2022, and (3) Analysis of Restructuring Investigation Units to Improve Solve Rates by Increasing Civilian Staff and Reducing Sworn Staff.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Public Safety is a top policy priority of the City of Oakland, as articulated in Mayor and City Council priorities identified during the budget process. Beyond ongoing work of various City departments and partners, the City Council approved specific policy directives to the Administration, the status of which are the subject of this report.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The City Council adopted the FY 2021-23 Policy Budget on June 24, 2021 via Resolution No. 88717 C.M.S. The approved budget included 27 policy directives, including 11 under the category of Public Safety and Violence Prevention. At its Special City Council Meeting on December 7, 2021, the City Council approved a scheduling motion requesting this report.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Public Safety Budget Policy Directives
Date: December 22, 2021 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
January 11, 2022
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The following are the titles of the Council Policy Directives related to Public Safety and Violence Prevention and updates on their implementation.
8. Independent Audit of the Police Department
Development of the scope for this audit will commence following the onboarding of the Police Commission Inspector General in early 2022.
9. Police Department Calls for Service
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) has contracted with the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform to conduct a comprehensive calls-for-service analysis that will examine the past three years of call data to show the amount of police resources used and the time spent overall on these specific calls, as indicated in a November 12, 2021 Informational Memo
. The analysis is expected
to be complete by March 2022.
10. Police Department Academies
OPD provided an Informational Report to the Public Safety Committee at its September 14, 2021 meeting.
11. Second Phase of Reimagining Public Safety to Include Restructuring of the Police Department to Focus on Serious and Violent Crime
Development of a consultant scope of services for Phase Two has not yet begun.
Staff hopes to use this Public Safety Committee meeting to solicit public and Councilmember feedback on the substance of the scope and any other aspects of this process in order to inform next steps.
a. Increase Capacity to Investigate and Solve Crimes and Produce Higher Clearance Rates on Homicides, Missing Persons, and Other Serious Crimes by Restructuring Investigations Units
The information below details how OPD has worked to increase capacity to investigate and solve crimes and produce higher clearance rates on homicides, missing persons, and other serious crimes by restructuring investigations units.
This includes the formation and continued efforts of the Violent Crimes Operations Center, the realignment of investigators to support violent crime follow-up, and the gun tracing and NIBN work done by the Crime Lab and Crime Gun Integration Center (CGIC).
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Public Safety Budget Policy Directives
Date: December 22, 2021 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
January 11, 2022
Violent Crime Operations Center
Prior to establishing the Violent Crime Operations Center (VCOC), Crime Reduction Teams (CRTs) were organized under OPD’s the Bureau of Field Operations and assigned to an area commander. Although this structure had many positive components, CRT only had a view of their designated geography.
The VCOC was established in early 2021 to centralize the strategic dissemination of criminal intelligence and deployment of police resources. This centralized approach supports the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and intelligence-led violent crime prevention. The VCOC has a multi-pronged approach to fighting and deterring violent crime. VCOC goals include:
• Receive, analyze, and disseminate criminal intelligence and information; • Reduce and Prevent Crime through intelligence driven enforcement; • Support the Department’s Ceasefire strategy in using data to reduce group/gang violence;
• Provide real-time assistance to field units;
• Identify crime patterns, trends and areas for preventive measures and follow up investigations; and
• Collaborate with external partners such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), United States Marshals Service (USMS), and the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention (DVP).
This centralized and collaborative approach has proven to be effective. In Q2 2021 VCOC was responsible for 62 arrests including 19 for homicide cases. The VCOC and its stakeholders continue to direct resources to those locations in Oakland Police Areas 4 and 5, and towards those individuals who were most likely driving the violence in Oakland.
Nexus between Ceasefire, CGIC, Crime lab, and DVP
Reducing gun violence is a top OPD priority. First, the Ceasefire strategy is the primary model used to combat gun violence in Oakland. This strategy calls for a reliance on crime data and intelligence to focus on those who commit shootings and homicides in Oakland. There is a strong emphasis on removing guns from the community. The specific focus is removing them from the individuals who are using them for violent crimes. There is significant coordination within OPD and with external law enforcement partners through the OPD Crime Gun Integration Center (CGIC). CGIC works closely with the OPD Crime Lab to rapidly analyze and disseminate the results of ballistic links that are produced by the OPD Crime Lab. This collaboration allows OPD to make connections between guns and shootings.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Public Safety Budget Policy Directives
Date: December 22, 2021 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
January 11, 2022
Ceasefire also coordinates with the DVP, community partners and community- based organizations to offer social services and support to the people identified by Ceasefire data analysis. Through group “call-in’s” and individual “custom notifications”, OPD staff engage in direct communication with subjects prone to violence and make a legitimate attempt to steer them toward the Life Coaching services offered by DVP staff and other DVP-funded community-based organizations.
Crime Lab
The Crime Lab’s strategy for capacity expansion includes:
• Filling vacancies;
• Adding personnel; and
• Supporting physical plant upgrades as solutions.
OPD’s full-service Crime Lab includes a number of specialty units (Drug Analysis, Firearms, Forensic Biology and Latent Prints) staffed mainly by criminalists but also by latent print examiners. These staffers are all highly skilled and specialized civilian professionals who perform the day-to-day work of the Lab. The Lab has 22 funded criminalist positions of which 15 are filled and 6 funded latent print examiner positions of which 5 are filled. The Firearms Unit has experienced the most longstanding vacancies - currently are three (3) filled positions and two (2) criminalist II vacancies. Those vacant positions need to be filled.
The laboratory is housed in an aging facility. Expansion would enhance the analytical capabilities of the laboratory and foster interactions with the investigators who benefit from the investigative leads generated by the laboratory.
b. Remove Low Level and Non-Violent Calls for Service from the Police Department
See Directive 9 above.
12. Significantly Stand Up MACRO As An Effective Alternate Response System as First Responders to Non-Violent Calls for Service
The Fire Department has made significant progress to stand up MACRO and has reported to the Council extensively since the approval of this Directive (including Public Safety Committee on September 14, 2021, Public Safety Committee on October 12, 2021, City Council on November 16, 2021). Current plan has initial start-up coming in February.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Public Safety Budget Policy Directives
Date: December 22, 2021 Page 5
Public Safety Committee
January 11, 2022
a. Advisory Board for MACRO
The Advisory Board is also in the process of being stood up, as discussed most recently at the November 16, 2021 City Council meeting (link above).
An online application process was open to the public through December 31, 2021.
13. Department of Violence Prevention Alternative Safety Plan and Community Violence Prevention Infrastructure
The Department of Violence Prevention presented a spending plan to the City Council, which was approved by the Council at its July 30, 2021 meeting, and issued a Request for Qualifications for the FY 2022-24 funding cycle on December 10, 2021.
14. Internal Affairs
Funding for this Directive is provided in the second year of the two-year budget.
Discussions between the City Administrator, Community Police Review Agency Director, and the Chief of Police have commenced.
15. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)
Currently, CPTED evaluations (CPTEDs) are performed by two Police Service Technicians (PSTs) in the Neighborhood Services Division of the City Administrator’s Office (NSD) and one senior PST in the Oakland Police Department. The CPTEDs performed by NSD are mostly informal analysis without in-depth write-ups whereas those performed by the OPD PST can be much more extensive and can include several pages of analysis. The majority of requests for CPTEDs come from private parties asking for assistance evaluating private residences such as apartment complexes or private businesses or churches. However, in the past two years, there were some public facilities that requested CPTEDs including some schools and parks. For example, during the design phase of the Holly Street Mini Park, the designs went through a CPTED evaluation, there was a CPTED performed for Children’s Fairyland, and one for Stonehurst Elementary School at the request of the principal. Many people request CPTEDs through their Neighborhood Services Coordinator (NSC) as part of a Neighborhood Council identifying an area of concern. In 2021, NSD supported several “CPTED Walks” in which staff joined Neighborhood Council Members and their CRO to walk an area of concern during which the PST would make informal recommendations. An example of this type of assessment included a recent one performed in the vicinity of Parker Elementary School, focusing primarily on Ney Ave from Parker to Ritchie. The PST was joined by the Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Public Safety Budget Policy Directives
Date: December 22, 2021 Page 6
Public Safety Committee
January 11, 2022
Community Resource Officer assigned to patrol this area, and they noted several areas of concern, primarily in regard to pedestrian safety.
In an effort to meet the City Council directive, and ensure CPTEDs have meaningful, effective, and realistic recommendations, the City is evaluating some key measures and will provide a full report after further analysis, with a target of February or March 2022:
1. Ensure the relevant staff from OakDOT and OPW are present when a CPTED Walk is being planned: This allows them to receive the informal feedback, and to provide their expertise on what is effective and feasible prior to formal written recommendations. It is essential that subject matter experts are part of CPTEDs on public property to ensure effective coordination and to be able to factor in the cost of recommendations with each department’s overall budget in mind.
2. Offer further CPTED certification training to NSCs and to the current PSTs in NSD. This could expand the capacity to perform more formal CPTEDs and creates a training opportunity for staff. There is an upcoming certification class in April 2022 that staff are considering. However, due to significant staffing challenges in NSD, these would likely be performed on an overtime basis.
3. Developing a more formal structure for requesting and providing the resources for CPTEDs for public and private settings. This would include a prioritization process regarding the CPTED and funding the implementation of the recommendations in the neighborhoods experiencing the most significant challenges. Also, as more staff become certified to perform this service, a fee structure should be established to cover the costs. Those fees should be covered by the requesting party, whether a private business or a City Department or other public agency.
Assuming the pairing of OakDOT and OPW staff with the CPTED evaluator occurs, it would be helpful, over time, to create a toolbox of measures whose costs and implementation paths are well-known. That would help to ensure that recommendations are feasible and possible to implement early in the evaluation process.
16. CERT/Emergency Preparedness
The FY2021-23 budget increases enable the Emergency Management Services Division (EMSD) within the Oakland Fire Department (OFD) to expand emergency preparedness outreach, recruitment, and services in previously underserved communities and the high wildfire risk areas.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Public Safety Budget Policy Directives
Date: December 22, 2021 Page 7
Public Safety Committee
January 11, 2022
EMSD has identified priority locations based on the high priority locations outlined in the OakDOT Geographic Equity Toolbox and the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone as identified by CalFire. EMSD has prioritized outreach and recruitment neighborhoods based on this data. Communities have received organizational tags to enable prioritization of training allocations in those historically underserved communities and help build more resilient communities.
In May 2021, OFD launched the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training bringing Oakland in line with the National Standards for community-based response. OFD graduated two adult classes and the first ever all youth cohort in calendar year 2021. EMSD has planned one (1) instructor course, four (4) adult classes and one (1) youth class for calendar year 2022.
The instructor course will include local educators to help build capacity for CERT training within local school districts.
EMSD will launch personal emergency preparedness (PEP) training in calendar year 2022. PEP focuses on steps individuals and families can take to survive all types of hazards. Participants will take active steps towards completing an emergency plan and be provided basic materials to build their emergency kit.
17. Vegetation Management/Wildfire Prevention
Direction to the City Administration under this Directive is to work with City Council on preparing a Wildfire Assessment ballot measure. A predecessor activity is completion of the City’s Vegetation Management Plan, which is currently undergoing environmental review. The final environmental impact report and proposed Plan is expected to be before the City Council for its consideration in 2022.
18. Youth and Families
Funding for this Directive is provided in the second year of the two-year budget; work on this Directive will start next fiscal year.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this informational report.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
There was no public outreach conducted in the preparation of this informational report, though there is great public interest in the subject areas covered by these Directives and the implementation of most if not all includes significant public outreach.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Public Safety Budget Policy Directives
Date: December 22, 2021 Page 8
Public Safety Committee
January 11, 2022
COORDINATION
The City Administrator’s Office worked with numerous City departments in the development of this report.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: There are no economic opportunities associated with this informational report.
Environmental: There are no environmental opportunities associated with this informational report.
Race & Equity: There are no race and equity opportunities associated with this environmental report; however, many of the directives will have race and equity implications and may require racial equity impact analyses.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive an Informational Report on the Implementation of the FY 2021-23 City Council Public Safety Budget Policy Directives, Including Status of Conducting (1) An Analysis of Calls for Service and Recommendations to Transfer Certain Calls to Alternative Response by April 2022, (2) An Independent Audit of the Police Department by December 2022, and (3) Analysis of Restructuring Investigation Units to Improve Solve Rates by Increasing Civilian Staff and Reducing Sworn Staff.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Ed Reiskin, City Administrator.
Respectfully submitted,
Edward D. Reiskin
City Administrator