APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. _______________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY VICE MAYOR REBECCA KAPLAN, COUNCIL PRESIDENT
NIKKI FORTUNATO BAS & COUNCILMEMBER CARROLL FIFE
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CREATION OF A COUNTYWIDE,
COLLABORATIVE, COMMUNITY -BASED PLANNING PROCESS TO
REIMAGINE ALAMEDA COUNTY’S APPROACH TO YOUTH JUSTICE
AS PROPOSED BY THE FREE OUR KIDS (FOK) COALITION AND THE COUNTY’S JUVENILE JUSTICE COORDINATING COUNCIL (JJCC)
REALIGNMENT SUBCOMMITTEE CREATED PURSUANT TO
CALIFORNIA SENATE BILL 823
WHEREAS, 42% of all youth referred to the justice system in Alameda County come from Oakland1; and
WHEREAS, Alameda County is currently spending between $500,000 and $800,000 per year to keep one youth in detention2; and
WHEREAS, Black youth from the City of Oakland are approximately 113 times more likely than white youth to be criminalized and arrested3; and
WHEREAS, youth of color represent 92% of youth under probation supervision in Alameda County, and for youth from Oakland under probation supervision, youth of color represent 99% of all youth under probation supervision4; and
WHEREAS, as of 2020, Black youth were 65 times more likely to be detained at Camp Sweeney than their white counterparts; and
1 “Alco Data Portal” located at https://data.acgov.org/search?collection=Dataset&q=prb. Accessed August 10, 2022.
2 “Alameda County Budget” located at http://acgov.org/MS/OpenBudget/budget.htm & “Juvenile Detention Profile Survey” located at https://bscc.ca.gov/s_fsojuveniledetentionprofile/. Accessed September 13, 2022.
3 “Alco Data Portal” located at https://data.acgov.org/search?collection=Dataset&q=prb.
Accessed August 10, 2022.
4 Ibid.
2 WHEREAS, the State closed the Division of Juvenile Justice following the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 823 (2020); the intent of this change was to align the rehabilitative mission of the state’s juvenile justice system with trauma -informed and developmentally appropriate services; and
WHEREAS, following the passage of SB 823, Alameda County hosted a Reimagining Juvenile Justice Forum in fall of 2020 to provide information about the landscape of juvenile justice, efforts around reform, juvenile demographic data, and to brainstorm ways to best serve youth and communities; and
WHEREAS, despite reforms that have reduced the number of youth involv ed in the criminal legal system in the City of Oakland and County of Alameda, youth of color are significantly more likely than white youth to be referred to and processed through the system; and
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland understands the criminal and j uvenile legal systems disproportionately impact youth with early childhood trauma and that education, welfare, health, and youth justice systems fail and retraumatize those youth; and
WHEREAS, the current criminal legal system in the City of Oakland and County of Alameda does not adequately address the needs of girls, gender expansive youth, and trans people; and
WHEREAS, research affirms the dangerous effects of incarceration on young people; and community-based alternatives and interventions across the United States and in the Bay Area have demonstrated significant potential as alternative models of accountability; and
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland prioritizes providing recreational, educational , and employment opportunities for youth to prevent contact with the legal system; and
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland believes it must lead with practices that support healing to allow yout h to take responsibility for their mistakes and improve community safety by supporting the growth and wellbeing of our young people; and
WHEREAS, community-based is defined as an approach in which communities who have been impacted by the issues being discussed have an active role and participate in highlighting and addressing the issues that matter to them; community -based means being in the community that you serve, geographically and philosophically; a community-based approach invites communities to actively design, develop, and deliver their own culturally responsive prevention and intervention strategies; and
WHEREAS, the City of Oakland believes it should assess whether aspects of the current criminal legal system practices need to be re -imagined to better support healing and opportunity; and
3 WHEREAS, the City of Oakland believes any process to re -imagine justice s hould be collaborative and give space for community members and directly impacted families to take leadership and have their perspectives impact the process; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That the City of Oakland supports a multi -sector, multi -agency, a nd community-based approach to assess and reimagine youth justice in Alameda County; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That t he City of Oakland supports restructuring Alameda County’s youth justice system by using a public health approach to address the underlying conditions that create violence.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES - FIFE, GALLO, KALB, KAPLAN, REID, TAYLOR, THAO AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
3209508v2/SMW