OPD Baseline Organizational and
Staffing Review
Executive Summary Presentation
PFM Group Consulting LLC
Seth Williams, Director
Ronal Serpas, Senior Advisor
Victoria Asare, Senior Managing Consultant
Index
• Overview of Engagement
• Workload- based Staffing Analyses
• Workload- based Staffing Results at “Baseline”
2 Overview of Engagement
3 Overview of Engagement – Data Limitations
• Several data limitations impact the analyses produced in this report, including:
o Patrol: Limited data on calls for service beyond 2022 was available through OPD’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system.
o Investigations: OPD does not have a centralized database tracking assigned and cleared cases. o Crime data: OPD’s reporting of crimes to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program contained an error that caused an abnormally high number of reported aggravated assaults in 2023. 4 Overview of Engagement - Context
• Policing agencies require a clear and concrete plan for the deployment of sworn and non- sworn personnel to deliver efficient, effective law enforcement services – particularly as most American cities navigate a national shortage of qualified officers. • However, before identifying the optimal number and distribution of staffing, a police department needs to first assess its baseline workload to level -set facts and create a common point of departure for policy, goals, and personnel discussions. 5 Overview of Engagement – “Baseline”
• The City of Oakland engaged PFM Group Consulting LLC (PFM) to document the Oakland Police Department’s (“OPD” or “the Department”) baseline operations and workload.
Baseline workload is defined as the workload absent
changes to then- current operations, organization, and
policies.
Baseline staffing is an estimate of the number of sworn staff needed to handle OPD’s then- current workload
(defined as 2022 for patrol workload / 2023 for
investigations workload, given available data during this engagement) and operational goals for the patrol and
investigative functions during this report .
• Consistent with the definitions
at right, the baseline review is
presented as maintaining the
then- current state of OPD
operations.
6 Overview of Engagement – “Baseline”
• Baseline analyses are provided to define the state of OPD and its workload at the time of study and help level -set the then- present facts – they do not represent the “ideal” state. They are presented within the context of the methodological and data limitations noted throughout the report.
• As with all staffing projections, this report and its results are not intended to provide a formulaic single “right” answer for OPD baseline staffing – there is no such thing. • Rather, the report findings and workload- based outputs should be used to help inform judgments and decision- making by elected and appointed leaders, stakeholders, and the public. 7 • For most bureaus, authorized sworn and professional positions were lower in FY 2025 than in FY 2021.
o OPD reorganizations during this period shifted certain positions between bureaus and affected results, particularly for the Bureau of Risk Management (created in 2021), the Office of the Chief of Police, and the Bureau of Services.
o BFO 1 authorized positions decreased at a CAGR of 6.8 percent from FY 2021 to FY 2025. BFO 2 authorized sworn positions decreased for much of this period but increased in FY 2025 due to additional staffing of crime reduction teams following the closure of the Violent Crime Operations Center.
2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 CAGR
Authorized 1,092 1,117 1,029 1,039 981 -2.6%
Bureau of Field Operations 1 307 312 236 252 232 -6.8%
Sworn 288 293 218 235 216 -6.9%
Professional 19 19 18 17 16 -4.2%
Bureau of Field Operations 2 279 269 261 241 272 -0.6%
Sworn 251 241 240 222 255 0.4%
Professional 28 28 21 19 17 -11.7%
Office of Chief of Police 92 50 45 47 67 -7.6%
Sworn 65 45 41 41 61 -1.6%
Professional 27 5 4 6 6 -31.3%
Bureau of Risk Management 0 75 73 88 89 -
Sworn 0 41 39 49 49 -
Professional 0 34 34 39 40 -
Bureau of Services 218 169 170 170 150 -8.9%
Sworn 52 15 11 13 5 -44.3%
Professional 166 154 159 157 145 -3.3%
Bureau of Investigations 196 242 244 241 171 -3.4%
Sworn 116 156 153 146 92 -5.6%
Professional 80 86 91 95 79 -0.3%
Filled 917 928 918 900 864 -1.5%
Bureau of Field Operations 1 284 287 246 209 202 -8.2%
Sworn 269 273 230 197 190 -8.3%
Professional 15 14 16 12 12 -5.4%
Bureau of Field Operations 2 225 223 234 240 237 1.3%
Sworn 203 202 209 223 220 2.0%
Professional 22 21 25 17 17 -6.2%
Office of Chief of Police 71 41 36 42 67 -1.4%
Sworn 57 38 33 37 60 1.3%
Professional 14 3 3 5 7 -15.9%
Bureau of Risk Management 0 62 59 76 80 -
Sworn 0 38 35 44 51 -
Professional 0 24 24 32 29 -
Bureau of Services 182 134 144 138 128 -8.4%
Sworn 47 12 10 11 6 -40.2%
Professional 135 122 134 127 122 -2.5%
Bureau of Investigations 155 181 199 195 150 -0.8%
Sworn 93 117 123 120 78 -4.3%
Professional 62 64 76 75 72 3.8%
Note: The authorized and filled staffing information was manually compiled from OPD annual reports (2020, 2021, and 2022). OPD also provided additional staffing reports for 2023 and 2024 that were also manually compiled to complete this analysis. Filled staffing for FY 2021 through FY 2024 is as December of that fiscal year. Filled staffing for FY 2025 is as of July 2024, the start of FY 2025. Position counts exclude police officer trainees and student trainees.
Overview of Engagement –
Authorized & Filled Positions
8 • The baseline workload- based analysis found a
need for 199 more budgeted positions than
included in the FY 2025 budget - BFO 1 (+75), BFO
2 (+65), and BOI (+59).
Ofc Sgt Lt Cpt Dep.
Chief
Asst.
Chief Chief Total
Sworn
Total
Prof. Total
FY 2025 Budgeted Positions 523 111 28 10 4 1 1 678 303 981 Bureau of Field Operations 1 174 31 7 3 1 0 0 216 16 232 Bureau of Field Operations 2 203 38 9 4 1 0 0 255 17 272 Bureau of Investigations 72 14 4 1 1 0 0 92 79 171
Office of the Chief of Police 47 8 3 1 0 1 1 61 6 67
Bureau of Risk Management 23 19 5 1 1 0 0 49 40 89
Bureau of Services 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 145 150
Baseline Workload-Based Staffing 682 141 38 10 4 1 1 877 303 1,180 Bureau of Field Operations 1 235 42 10 3 1 0 0 291 16 307 Bureau of Field Operations 2 254 49 12 4 1 0 0 320 17 337 Bureau of Investigations 119 22 8 1 1 0 0 151 79 230
Office of the Chief of Police 47 8 3 1 0 1 1 61 6 67
Bureau of Risk Management 23 19 5 1 1 0 0 49 40 89
Bureau of Services 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 145 150
Difference 159 30 10 0 0 0 0 199 0 199
Bureau of Field Operations 1 61 11 3 0 0 0 0 75 0 75
Bureau of Field Operations 2 51 11 3 0 0 0 0 65 0 65
Bureau of Investigations 47 8 4 0 0 0 0 59 0 59
Office of the Chief of Police
Not projected as part of this scope of servicesBureau of Risk Management Bureau of Services
Overview of Engagement – Staffing
Needs at “Baseline”
9 Overview of Engagement – Beyond “Baseline”
• OPD leadership indicated that the current operations and staffing levels are insufficient to meet City needs and goals. Current conditions are not well -suited for the long- term safety goals of the City and OPD.
• To that end, the natural next step for Oakland’s elected and appointed leaders, stakeholders, and the public is to identify – beyond baseline staffing – what functions they want OPD to perform and what outcomes they want to achieve. Then, using the baseline analysis as a point of departure, the City and Department should create a multi -year plan to ensure the necessary sworn and professional levels to efficiently, effectively, and sustainably meet mandates. 10 Workload-based Staffing Analyses
11 Workload-based Staffing: At “Baseline”
• As a reminder, the scope of services focuses on sworn staffing. Professional staffing projections were not included in the scope of services.
• At “baseline,” the only assumed operational change was increased proactive time for patrol officers to a minimum threshold created with OPD.
• Patrol staffing estimates assume no changes in calls for service volume, response policies, or time spent responding to calls for service (relative to CY 2022 data). • Investigations staffing estimates assume no change in case volume from 2023 levels. 12 Workload-based Staffing: At “Baseline”
• An officer’s share of time allocated toward answering calls for service varies by Department based on the Department's staffing, goals, and community circumstances. • The workload-based staffing model divides officer time while on a shift into three categories:
o Responding to community-generated calls for service.
o Conducting proactive police activity – engaging with the community, proactively patrolling, etc. o Completing administrative tasks and taking breaks.
• For administrative tasks and breaks, OPD officers spend two hours in the station each shift—one at the start of a scheduled shift and one at the end. Assuming one additional hour for breaks and other administrative tasks throughout a shift results in three hours per shift, or 30 percent of a 10-hour shift and 25 percent of a 12-hour shift. 13 • This report’s approach was based on a methodology published by the U.S. Department of Justice and implemented in police departments nationwide. Workload- based staffing analyses use data on actual patrol workload to estimate the staffing required to meet a community’s demand for patrol service.
• PFM’s analysis of OPD patrol staffing included a review of key data and assumptions that drive the results of the workload- based patrol staffing assessment , including:
o Staffing schedules and availability
o Officer workload
o Officer time allocation
Provide staffing estimates.
Establish performance
objectives.
Calculate the shift-relief factor.
Estimate the time consumed on
calls for service.
Examine the nature and
frequency of calls.
Examine distribution of
community-generated CFS.
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
“A Performance-based Approach to Police Staffing and Allocation,” Jeremy M. Wilson and Alexander Weiss https://portal.cops.usdoj.gov/resourcecenter/ric/Publications/cops-p247-pub.pdf. 14 Call Categories
1.Administrative, organization-related, and
non-crime events (or “Admin”)
2.Alarms
3.Vice
4.Disorder
5.Domestic-related
6.Follow-ups and service requests (or
“Follow-up/Service”)
7.Mental
8.Medical
9.Missing Persons
10.Violence
11.Interpersonal-other
12.Property
13.Suspicions
14.Traffic-related
• To contextualize OPD call types, every call type was
assigned to one of 14 categories that align with those
used in a national review of police workload.
o While there is no nationally recognized standard for
comparing and categorizing calls for service, PFM’s
methodology follows a nationally -accepted study.
o The categorizations of OPD call types were reviewed by – and finalized with input from – OPD.
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
1 Lum, C., Koper, C. S., & Wu, X. (2022). Can We Really Defund the Police? A Nine-Agency Study of Police Response to Calls for Service. Police Quarterly, 25(3), 255-280.
15 • The resulting total calls for service showed a
calls for service decline of 18.3 percent (from
187,304 in 2019 to 152,938 in 2022).
o Self -initiated calls declined by 29.5 percent
over this period, while community -generated
calls declined by 15.4 percent.
• Community -generated calls for service volume
was stable across months in 2022 and showed
a similar trend in 2019 through 2021, although
at higher volumes.
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
2019 2020 2021 2022 CAGR
Community-Generated 148,296 129,694 130,716 125,427 -5.4% Self-Initiated 39,008 29,628 25,775 27,511 -11.0%
Total 187,304 159,322 156,491 152,938 -6.5%
OPD Calls for Service with Patrol Officer Unit Response, by Type, 2019 through 2022
COVID-19
0 2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
January February March April May June July August September October November December 2019 2020 2021 2022
OPD Community-Generated Calls for Service by Month,
2019 through 2022
16 • The current OPD patrol schedule results in mostly
stable staffing levels throughout the day, which is
different than the trend in 2022 community -generated
call volume per hour.
• OPD leadership reported that officers are expected to be at their patrol beats one hour after their shift begins and are typically called back to the station for report review about one hour before shift end.
• This practice results in fewer officers at beats at
certain hours – with the greatest impact at 6:00am
and 7:00am.
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
0 2
4 6
8 10
12 14
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Shifts
Hour of Day
Shifts at Beats Shifts in Station
Patrol Shifts at Beats and in Station, by Hour of Day
Officers Scheduled to be at Beats and Community-Generated Call Volume, Average, by Hour of Day
0 2
4 6
8 10
12 14
16 18
20 0
20 40
60 80
100
120
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011121314151617181920212223
Average Calls Received
Avg Officers Scheduled
Hour of Day
Avg Officers at Beats Avg Calls Received
17 • The 2022 average of 4.1 officers scheduled to be at beats per average call received per hour declined to 3.3 officers available after considering time on leave and in training.
Officers Scheduled to be at Beats per Community-Generated Call, Average, by Hour of Day and Day of Week
Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Avg
0 6.1 7.1 7.4 8.3 9.1 8.6 6.3 7.6
1 3.4 4.7 4.4 4.3 5.2 5.8 3.9 4.5
2 3.9 5.3 5.2 5.3 6.2 6.5 4.2 5.2
3 4.5 5.8 6.3 5.9 6.5 7.2 5.0 5.9
4 5.3 7.0 6.1 6.2 7.2 8.2 6.2 6.6
5 5.9 8.1 6.6 6.3 7.3 8.3 6.9 7.0
6 4.2 2.9 2.6 2.6 2.7 4.7 3.0 3.2
7 2.5 2.7 2.0 1.9 2.6 2.2 3.0 2.4
8 4.7 3.9 3.0 3.4 3.8 4.6 4.9 4.1
9 3.8 3.2 2.6 2.7 3.2 3.5 3.7 3.2
10 3.9 3.4 2.6 2.7 3.4 3.7 4.0 3.4
11 3.5 3.3 2.5 2.5 3.0 3.7 3.6 3.1
12 3.6 3.3 2.6 2.7 3.2 3.9 3.4 3.2
13 3.8 3.2 2.8 2.9 3.4 3.8 3.4 3.3
14 3.7 3.4 2.7 2.9 3.3 3.9 3.9 3.4
15 4.7 3.8 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.9 4.2 4.2
16 3.0 2.4 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.7 3.0 2.7
17 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.8 2.4 2.7 3.0 2.8
18 2.8 2.7 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.7 3.0 2.8
19 2.9 2.6 2.8 2.7 2.8 2.7 2.7 2.7
20 2.8 2.8 2.9 2.6 2.8 2.6 3.2 2.8
21 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.6 2.7
22 4.0 5.0 4.6 4.4 4.6 4.1 4.8 4.5
23 6.5 6.7 6.3 6.3 7.0 6.4 5.5 6.4
Avg 3.9 4.1 3.8 3.8 4.2 4.6 4.1 4.1
Estimated Officers Available to be at Beats per Community-Generated Call, Average, by Hour of Day and Day of Week
Hour Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Avg
0 5.0 5.8 6.0 6.7 7.4 6.9 5.1 6.1
1 2.8 3.8 3.6 3.5 4.2 4.7 3.2 3.7
2 3.1 4.3 4.2 4.3 5.0 5.3 3.4 4.2
3 3.7 4.7 5.1 4.8 5.3 5.8 4.1 4.8
4 4.3 5.6 4.9 5.0 5.8 6.6 5.0 5.3
5 4.7 6.6 5.4 5.1 5.9 6.7 5.6 5.7
6 3.4 2.4 2.1 2.1 2.2 3.8 2.4 2.6
7 2.1 2.2 1.6 1.5 2.1 1.8 2.4 2.0
8 3.8 3.2 2.5 2.8 3.1 3.8 4.0 3.3
9 3.1 2.6 2.1 2.2 2.6 2.9 3.0 2.6
10 3.1 2.7 2.1 2.2 2.8 3.0 3.2 2.7
11 2.8 2.7 2.0 2.0 2.5 3.0 2.9 2.5
12 2.9 2.6 2.1 2.2 2.6 3.2 2.8 2.6
13 3.1 2.6 2.3 2.3 2.7 3.1 2.8 2.7
14 3.0 2.7 2.2 2.3 2.7 3.2 3.1 2.8
15 3.8 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.9 3.4 3.4
16 2.4 2.0 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.1
17 2.2 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.2
18 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.1 2.2 2.4 2.2
19 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.2 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.2
20 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.1 2.3 2.1 2.6 2.3
21 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.1 2.2
22 3.3 4.1 3.7 3.6 3.7 3.4 3.9 3.7
23 5.3 5.4 5.1 5.1 5.6 5.2 4.5 5.2
Avg 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.1 3.4 3.7 3.3 3.3
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
Note: Scheduled staffing is budgeted positions per hour compared to the 2022 community-generated call volume per hour. Available staffing is budgeted positions less leave (paid time off) and training.
18 • Total community-generated calls decreased at a CAGR of 5.4 percent from 148,296 in 2019 to 125,427 in 2022.
o Decreases in calls in the Disorder and Admin categories drove the overall decrease in volume over this period.
• In 2022, more than half of community-generated calls to which patrol officers responded (52.3 percent) were in the Violence, Disorder, or Property categories.
o Calls in the Violence category increased the most – partially due to “Disturbing the Peace – Shot Spotter” calls which increased by 3,272 calls from 2019 to 2022.
2019 2020 2021 2022
% of
2022 CAGR
Violence 24,264 25,826 27,955 26,523 21.1% 3.0%
Disorder 34,877 30,935 28,408 26,186 20.9% -9.1%
Property 13,333 11,664 11,809 12,858 10.3% -1.2%
Admin 16,630 10,056 10,119 11,534 9.2% -11.5%
Traffic-related 13,742 11,384 12,098 10,501 8.4% -8.6%
Alarms 12,281 8,963 9,421 9,544 7.6% -8.1%
Mental 8,544 8,056 8,266 7,556 6.0% -4.0%
Follow-up/Service 7,497 6,913 6,997 6,989 5.6% -2.3%
Suspicious 5,837 5,293 5,593 4,843 3.9% -6.0%
Domestic-related 5,580 5,272 5,079 4,591 3.7% -6.3%
Medical 2,034 2,158 2,314 2,192 1.7% 2.5%
Missing Persons 1,090 913 964 954 0.8% -4.3%
Vice 2,102 1,910 1,313 805 0.6% -27.4%
Interpersonal-other 485 351 380 351 0.3% -10.2%
Total 148,296 129,694 130,716 125,427 -5.4%
Community-Generated Calls, by Category, 2019 through 2022 Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
19 • Although call volume declined from 2019 to 2022, the total time officers spent responding to calls increased at a
compound annual rate of 1.4 percent.
• OPD officers spent more than one- third (35.7 percent) of their time responding to community -generated calls on
calls in the Violence category in 2022 – equivalent to 137 FTE.
o In 2022, officers spent 18.1 percent more hours on
violence than in 2019.
2019 2020 2021 2022
% of
2022 CAGR
Violence 76,849 83,988 91,849 90,774 35.7% 5.7%
Disorder 40,878 45,718 39,517 37,080 14.6% -3.2%
Property 23,192 23,705 22,879 24,568 9.7% 1.9%
Traffic-related 22,357 20,836 22,760 21,111 8.3% -1.9%
Mental 17,605 18,192 17,738 17,406 6.9% -0.4%
Admin 17,801 16,727 16,093 16,612 6.5% -2.3%
Follow-up/Service 8,260 9,535 9,349 10,188 4.0% 7.2%
Alarms 10,278 8,725 8,754 9,443 3.7% -2.8%
Domestic-related 10,053 9,864 9,909 8,920 3.5% -3.9%
Suspicious 5,968 6,445 7,019 7,165 2.8% 6.3%
Medical 6,027 6,730 7,651 6,952 2.7% 4.9%
Missing Persons 2,606 2,189 2,550 2,587 1.0% -0.2%
Vice 1,471 1,571 988 687 0.3% -22.4%
Interpersonal-other 519 460 405 507 0.2% -0.8%
Total 243,864 254,686 257,460 254,000 1.4%
Officer Hours on Community-Generated Calls,
by Category, CY 2019 through CY 2022
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
20 • From 2019 to 2022, total patrol officer self -
initiated calls declined at a CAGR of 11.0 percent
• The category with the greatest number of self -
initiated calls was On View, a call type used to log
various self -initiated activities.
o OPD could not provide specific descriptions of the
activities completed under the On View call type –
OPD does not capture this information.
Self-Initiated Calls, by Category, 2019 through 2022
2019 2020 2021 2022 CAGR
On View 17,673 14,268 12,890 13,166 -9.3%
Follow-up/Service 9,924 5,783 5,188 5,728 -16.7%
Traffic-related 4,660 3,502 2,654 3,300 -10.9%
Property 1,665 1,569 1,438 1,700 0.7%
Admin 1,902 1,396 1,179 1,227 -13.6%
Disorder 1,125 1,425 1,010 945 -5.6%
Violence 760 673 642 601 -7.5%
Suspicious 721 522 314 346 -21.7%
Mental 274 225 221 210 -8.5%
Medical 150 144 156 188 7.8%
Missing Persons 46 26 26 37 -7.0%
Domestic-related 55 37 27 34 -14.8%
Alarms 31 34 20 17 -18.1%
Vice 17 19 9 7 -25.6%
Interpersonal-other 5 5 1 5 0.0%
Total 39,008 29,628 25,775 27,511 -11.0%
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
21 • Time spent on self -initiated calls declined at a slower rate (3.7 percent CAGR) than self -initiated call volume (11.0 percent CAGR).
• OPD officers spent nearly a quarter (23.3 percent) of their time responding to self -initiated calls in the On View category.
• Violence and Disorder were the fastest -growing categories. 2019 2020 2021 2022 CAGR
On View 5,525 4,785 4,002 4,254 -8.3%
Traffic-related 4,256 3,218 2,938 3,610 -5.3%
Admin 3,120 3,126 2,831 2,808 -3.4%
Violence 2,215 2,271 2,352 2,515 4.3%
Disorder 1,316 1,153 2,198 1,662 8.1%
Property 1,268 1,389 1,097 1,185 -2.2%
Follow-up/Service 1,009 776 552 956 -1.8%
Suspicious 1,064 783 527 592 -17.8%
Mental 361 356 422 410 4.3%
Medical 122 173 128 161 9.7%
Missing Persons 43 11 63 34 -7.7%
Domestic-related 80 50 42 32 -26.0%
Alarms 12 16 7 6 -21.3%
Vice 23 9 18 6 -36.6%
Interpersonal-other 3 7 0 3 1.6%
Total 20,417 18,123 17,179 18,234 -3.7%
Officer Hours on Self-Initiated Calls,
by Category, CY 2019 through CY 2022
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
22 • Staffing estimates produced in this assessment used OPD’s then- current proactive time figures and included a revised target allocation of proactive time in addition to time spent responding to calls for service. This reflected a co- developed assumption that City leaders, OPD, and Oakland residents want officers to be able to complete proactive, discretionary, or other - directed tasks during shifts, rather than spending shifts simply responding to calls for service. o Officers are assumed to be available to answer calls for service during this proactive time. This added time is intended to increase officers' average capacity to work proactively. • Proactive time allows officers to perform tasks intended to prevent and reduce crime and disorder , rather than simply reacting to calls for service about crime and disorder.
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
23 • Specific proactive policing tasks should be determined by the Department, in alignment with its goals for community engagement and crime prevention. Examples include:
o Increasing non- crime related interactions with the community o Hot spot proactive policing
o Preventive patrol
• Effective use of proactive time requires Department leadership to provide clear direction regarding how officers should spend proactive time and close and effective accountability strategies to monitor and manage use of this time.
Sources: Reforming the police through procedural justice training: A multicity randomized trial at crime hot spots; David Weisburd, Cody W. Telep, Heather Vovak, and Brandon Turchan March 28, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118780119; Research Will Shape the Future of Proactive Policing, Paul A. Haskins, National Institute of Justice, October 24, 2019, https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/research-will-shape-future-proactive-policing.
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
24 • Estimated proactivity capacity varied across shifts, influenced by the number of hours spent on community -generated calls for service and the number of officers assigned to each shift. • Across all areas, the Third Watch averaged the greatest proactivity capacity at about 35 percent, followed by the Second Watch at about 12 percent, and the First Watch at about 10 percent. • Many First and Second Watches have shares of time answering calls for service near or above 60 percent.
Estimated Proactivity Capacity by Area and Shift
CFS Admin Proactivity
Area 1
First Watch 67% 30% 3%
Second Watch 72% 25% 3%
Third Watch 42% 30% 28%
Area 2
First Watch 65% 30% 5%
Second Watch 61% 25% 14%
Third Watch 32% 30% 38%
Area 3
First Watch 53% 30% 17%
Second Watch 58% 25% 17%
Third Watch 36% 30% 34%
Area 4
First Watch 60% 30% 10%
Second Watch 64% 25% 11%
Third Watch 32% 30% 38%
Area 5
First Watch 53% 30% 17%
Second Watch 63% 25% 12%
Third Watch 38% 30% 32%
Area 6
First Watch 64% 30% 6%
Second Watch 60% 25% 15%
Third Watch 33% 30% 37%
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
25 • With a proactivity target of at least 30 percent on each shift, analyzed conditions, practices, and workload, calculated baseline staffing estimates indicate that more officers are needed on each shift in each area relative to budgeted
positions.
• The greatest need for additional officers was on the First Watch (53), followed by Second Watch (47) and Third
Watch (12).
Bu d g e te d Office r Sta ffin g
Fi rst Watch
Second
Watch
T hi rd
Watch T otal
Are a 1 16 16 16 48
Are a 2 14 14 14 42
Are a 3 16 16 16 48
Are a 4 16 16 16 48
Are a 5 16 16 16 48
Are a 6 16 16 16 48
T otal 94 94 94 282
Ca lc u la t e d Offic e r St a ffin g
Fi rst Watch
Second
Watch
T hi rd
Watch T otal
Are a 1 28 27 18 73
Are a 2 24 21 17 62
Are a 3 22 23 19 64
Are a 4 24 23 17 64
Are a 5 23 25 18 66
Are a 6 26 22 17 65
T otal 14 7 14 1 10 6 394
Net C hange
Fi rst Watch
Second
Watch
T hi rd
Watch T otal
Are a 1 12 11 2 25
Are a 2 10 7 3 20
Are a 3 6 7 3 16
Are a 4 8 7 1 16
Are a 5 7 9 2 18
Are a 6 10 6 1 17
T otal 53 47 12 112
Workload-based Staffing: Patrol
26 • During this study, access to reliable data regarding investigative work was very limited. • OPD leadership and staff recognize that sophisticated systems like Case Management Systems (CMS) and Records Management Systems (RMS) have been difficult to deploy across the organization, and the department's lack of discipline in tracking information is an area of opportunity (and an area of significant limitation for work like this engagement). • In the absence of robust and reliable data, the project team used multiple sources to inform its methodology and approach in OPD’s investigative function. o Total Investigations / Case Volume: Noting a limited screening process by OPD o Total Reported Crimes / Cases
Workload-based Staffing: Investigations
27 • A workload- based staffing assessment requires an understanding of the key drivers of workload per specialized unit. The workload- based approach quantifies these drivers – ideally, based on available data – and then follows a standard process (shown at right) to provide a workload- based staffing level per unit.
• Total Investigations (Case Volume)
• Touch Time
• Available Hours
• Total Required FTEs
Fo rm u la De sc rip t io n
A C ase V ol ume
× Mu lt ip lie d b y
B To u c h Tim e
= Equal s
C T otal Workl oad
÷ Di v i ded by
D Ava ila b le Ho u rs
= Equal s
E T otal R equi red FT E s
Workload-based Staffing: Investigations
28 • Based on the staffing study results, the total number of CID Investigators needed is 105, representing 47 additional investigators compared to the 58 budgeted in FY 2025.
Unit / Detail Positions
in Budget
Calculated
Positions Difference
Robbery & Felony
Assault Section 16 40 +24
Felony Assault Unit 8 15 +7
Robbery Unit 8 25 +17
Special Victims Section 16 27 +11
Special Victims Unit 6 7 +1
Domestic Violence Unit 8 13 +5
Missing Persons Unit 2 7 +5
Burglary & General
Crime Section 14 20 +6
Burglary Unit 7 14 +7
General Crimes Unit 7 6 -1
Homicide Section 12 18 +6
Homicide Unit 12 18 +6
Total 58 105 +47
Investigations Staffing Study Results Summary
Workload-based Staffing: Investigations
29 • Investigations General Observations
o During the study, the Department experienced many organizational changes, starting with a new Chief of Police and cascading down to Division, Section, and Unit command. Several, if not most, of the division and section commanders were in Acting roles.
o The General Crimes Unit mainly processes suspects apprehended by patrol. Its investigative duties are very limited.
Professional staff (civilians) can potentially perform this unit's duties. o The Homicide Unit’s seven-day rotation can become a source of officer burnout since it does not account for caseloads.
Officers who are called out for multiple homicides during their rotation will: (1) incur a considerable amount of overtime; (2) most likely reduce the time spent in each case; and (3) likely experience a negative impact on their ability to rest between shifts. Other departments have a per-case squad rotation. Each consecutive case is assigned to a different homicide squad – no back-to-back callouts.
Workload-based Staffing: Investigations
30 • Investigations General Observations (continued)
o Geographic assignment of cases in the Robbery and Burglary Units can also generate a workload imbalance. Officers assigned to more active geographies (Police Areas) will have larger caseloads than those in less active geographies. o Although OPD is in the process of implementing a new Case Management System (CMS) and Records Management System (RMS), it should consider continuing the practice of logging hours and activities in a manner that can help supervisors and unit command have visibility of time spent in cases and overall investigator performance. o Regardless of the availability of a CMS, OPD could consider implementing a manual way for unit supervisors to screen cases before assigning them to investigators for follow up. This would enable investigators to prioritize their time in cases where they can identify a suspect, which could potentially result in solving a case.
Workload-based Staffing: Investigations
31 Workload-based Staffing: Results at “Baseline”
32 • As a reminder, the scope of services focuses on sworn staffing. Professional staffing projections were not included in the scope of services.
• At “baseline,” the only assumed operational change included in estimates is increased proactive time for patrol officers to a minimum threshold (not to be considered ideal or a best practice). • Patrol staffing estimates assume no changes in calls for service volume, response policies, or time spent responding to calls for service (relative to CY 2022 data). Investigations staffing estimates similarly assume no change in case volume from 2023 levels.
Workload-based Staffing: Results at “Baseline”
33 • The baseline workload- based analysis found a
need for 199 more budgeted positions than
included in the FY 2025 budget - BFO 1 (+75), BFO
2 (+65), and BOI (+59).
• With the baseline analysis completed, the natural
next step for Oakland’s elected and appointed
leaders, stakeholders, and the public is to identify
– beyond baseline staffing and organization – what
functions they want OPD to perform and what
outcomes they want to achieve.
Ofc Sgt Lt Cpt Dep.
Chief
Asst.
Chief Chief Total
Sworn
Total
Prof. Total
FY 2025 Budgeted Positions 523 111 28 10 4 1 1 678 303 981 Bureau of Field Operations 1 174 31 7 3 1 0 0 216 16 232 Bureau of Field Operations 2 203 38 9 4 1 0 0 255 17 272 Bureau of Investigations 72 14 4 1 1 0 0 92 79 171
Office of the Chief of Police 47 8 3 1 0 1 1 61 6 67
Bureau of Risk Management 23 19 5 1 1 0 0 49 40 89
Bureau of Services 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 145 150
Baseline Workload-Based Staffing 682 141 38 10 4 1 1 877 303 1,180 Bureau of Field Operations 1 235 42 10 3 1 0 0 291 16 307 Bureau of Field Operations 2 254 49 12 4 1 0 0 320 17 337 Bureau of Investigations 119 22 8 1 1 0 0 151 79 230
Office of the Chief of Police 47 8 3 1 0 1 1 61 6 67
Bureau of Risk Management 23 19 5 1 1 0 0 49 40 89
Bureau of Services 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 145 150
Difference 159 30 10 0 0 0 0 199 0 199
Bureau of Field Operations 1 61 11 3 0 0 0 0 75 0 75
Bureau of Field Operations 2 51 11 3 0 0 0 0 65 0 65
Bureau of Investigations 47 8 4 0 0 0 0 59 0 59
Office of the Chief of Police
Not projected as part of this scope of servicesBureau of Risk Management Bureau of Services
Workload-based Staffing: Results at “Baseline”
34