Public Safety Committee
October 13, 2026
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Elizabeth Lake FROM: James P. Beere
Interim City Administrator Chief, OPD
SUBJECT: OPD Firearm Relinquishment Grant DATE: September 23, 2026 City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution 1) Ratifying The Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) Signed By Former Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell With The Alameda County Superior Court Of California, Effective December 1, 2024 (Attachment A), To Fund Equipment And Staffing To Support A Firearm Relinquishment Program Addressing Gun Violence Through The Removal Of Illegally Possessed Firearms, Firearms Possessed By Prohibited Persons, Or Subject To Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs); And
2) Accepting And Appropriating Up To One Million Five Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand Five Hundred Seventy-One Dollars ($1,563,571) In Reimbursement Funding Pursuant To The MOU For Equipment And Staffing In Support Of The Firearm Relinquishment Program.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Budget Act of 2022, Assembly Bill 178, appropriated $40 million to be allocated to the Judicial Council to support firearm relinquishment efforts statewide. $20 million has already been allocated to eight courts over two grant cycles. The Judicial Council of California, Center for Families, Children & the Courts, invites superior courts to apply for the AB 178 Firearm Relinquishment Grant. This funding is available to support new or expanded court-based firearm relinquishment programs to ensure the consistent safe removal of firearms from individuals who become prohibited from owning or possessing firearms and ammunition pursuant to court order.
Elizabeth Lake (Oct 8, 2026 15:56:29 PDT) Elizabeth Lake Oct 8, 2026 Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OPD Firearm Relinquishment Grant
Date: September 23, 2026 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
October 13, 2026
As part of this grant, in December 2024, OPD was selected to partner with Alameda County Superior Court and receive reimbursement funding up to $1,563,571 to support staffing, field operations, and technology integration focused on addressing gun violence through relinquishment efforts related to firearms and the recovery of illicit or unlawfully possessed firearms within the City of Oakland.
In order to facilitate this partnership, the Superior Court of California, Alameda County, composed an MOU (Attachment A) which was signed by both parties. The OPD program was intended to begin in January of 2025 but was delayed until July 2025 (FY 25-26). During a review of the project by the OPD project manager and upon consultation with the City Attorney, it was determined that the requisite approval for the MOU had not been fully completed and did not allow for the full execution of the agreement without City Council Approval.
REASON FOR URGENCY
OPD members have been working to support this initiative since July 2025 but are at risk of not receiving reimbursement for this work if the MOU is not fully executed, and OPD is unable to invoice for salary reimbursement. Additionally, additional field support cannot be provided until the MOU is fully executed, and funding can be allocated to support GVRO services and additional efforts related to removing illegally possessed firearms from our community. Based on significant staffing challenges, coupled with budgetary constraints, OPD would not be able to reasonably support these operations otherwise.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The overall goal of the Firearm Relinquishment Project is for the Superior Court to use funding to support both new and expanded activities across Alameda County to launch a comprehensive firearm relinquishment program. Gun violence has been a significant challenge within the City of Oakland for many years, and firearms are used in the majority of homicides within our community. This continues to be a challenge despite significant progress within Oakland related to overall violent crime.
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OPD Firearm Relinquishment Grant
Date: September 23, 2026 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
October 13, 2026
The goal of OPD is to both integrate existing technology in a more cohesive and comprehensive way, while also coordinating with field operations, investigative bodies, and additional stakeholders, to address the complex issue of gun violence and the possession of firearms by prohibited persons.
A key element of this work is the concept of a Technology Integration Platform (TIP), which is meant to facilitate both objectives by providing actionable data, whether historical or in real-time, to the relevant bodies. This is a critical tool/concept within the existing Operations Center, which is tasked with the coordination of Department-wide Operations, as well as facilitating data visualization and analysis related to gun violence.
The Operations Center works in direct collaboration with the Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC), Criminal Investigations Division (CID), and Ceasefire Section. It is designed to be the centralized intelligence node of the Department. The Operations Center’s focus is to communicate actionable data to the relevant bodies and assist in coordinating and/or facilitating collaborative efforts to address gun-related crime and the possession of firearms by prohibited persons. CGIC and Operations Center staff will track the recovery of firearms throughout the Department and ensure that the requisite follow-up is conducted related to recovered firearms.
The Operations Center will work directly with the Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) coordinator to assist with intelligence data and firearm processing support (when appropriate), as well as the coordination of field teams to assist in the location of the subject of a GVRO, the serving of that subject, and the relinquishment/seizure of relevant firearms related to the GVRO.
In circumstances where a crime has also occurred, the Operations Center will also assist the GVRO coordinator with any necessary collaboration with the Criminal Investigations Division as well as assist with the coordination of processing relevant firearm evidence. The GVRO coordinator will work with the Office of the City Attorney (OCA) related to ongoing GVRO’s and the required follow-up. The number of GVRO’s and the coordination of training will be the responsibility of the GVRO coordinator. This data will be compiled and forwarded to the operations center.
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OPD Firearm Relinquishment Grant
Date: September 23, 2026 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
October 13, 2026
The Operations Center and CGIC will coordinate with the OPD Crime Lab to develop and initiate training related to technology, the preservation of evidence, and processing of firearms.
Once the integration platform and the GVRO process have been solidified within the Department, it is the goal of the Department to partner with other local agencies to develop and implement a regional approach to both gun violence and the possession of firearms by prohibited persons. The coordination of this collaborative effort would be facilitated by the Operations Center, with the goal of combining efforts and resources for a more significant effect and sustainability.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
OPD is committed to intelligence-led, focused enforcement activities that emphasize precision and aim to mitigate collateral impacts on the community. Efforts related to this program are deliberately limited to focused activities related to those who unlawfully possess firearms within the community, or who have been determined by the court to be prohibited from possessing firearms due to a danger to themselves or others. Funding related to this program is not intended to be utilized to facilitate operations outside the scope of addressing gun violence.
RELATED PLANNING EFFORTS
This agenda item is a routine item and does not relate to any Oakland strategic planning efforts.
FISCAL IMPACT
The execution of this MOU will allow for OPD to invoice reimbursement of funding up to $1,563,571 to support staffing, field operations, and technology integration focused on addressing gun violence through relinquishment efforts related to firearms and the recovery of illicit or unlawfully possessed firearms within the City of Oakland. This project provides partial reimbursement of salary/benefits for up to four (4) sworn positions and one (1) professional staff position between FY25 – FY28.
The project does not include any additional funding from the City of Oakland outside of existing staff assigned.
Funding will be allocated as in Table 1 below to State of California Other Fund (2159), Organization Ceasefire (108630), Program, Project, and Accounts to be determined.
Fund Source Organization Project Program Amount
2159 108630 TBD TBD $1,563,571
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OPD Firearm Relinquishment Grant
Date: September 23, 2026 Page 5
Public Safety Committee
October 13, 2026
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
No outreach was deemed necessary for the proposed policy action beyond the standard City Council agenda noticing procedures.
COORDINATION
This report and legislation have been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau.
RACE AND EQUITY
In Oakland, gun violence has a disproportionate impact on communities of color in vulnerable areas of the city that are already heavily impacted by economic challenges and historic inequalities. Precision enforcement efforts to address gun violence can address specific individuals involved in ongoing gun violence, while limiting or eliminating collateral impact to the rest of the community.
Elizabeth Lake, Interim City Administrator
Subject: OPD Firearm Relinquishment Grant
Date: September 23, 2026 Page 6
Public Safety Committee
October 13, 2026
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution 1) Ratifying The Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) Signed By Former Oakland Police Chief Floyd Mitchell With The Alameda County Superior Court Of California, Effective December 1, 2024 (Attachment A), To Fund Equipment And Staffing To Support A Firearm Relinquishment Program Addressing Gun Violence Through The Removal Of Illegally Possessed Firearms, Firearms Possessed By Prohibited Persons, Or Subject To Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs); And
2) Accepting And Appropriating Up To One Million Five Hundred Sixty-Three Thousand Five Hundred Seventy-One Dollars ($1,563,571) In Reimbursement Funding Pursuant To The MOU For Equipment And Staffing In Support Of The Firearm Relinquishment Program.
For questions regarding this report, please contact Lt. Gabriel Urquiza at gurquiza[email protected].
Reviewed by:
Jeffrey Smoak, Captain
OPD, Ceasefire Section
Prepared by:
Gabriel Urquiza, Lieutenant
OPD, RTOC – Ceasefire Section
Attachment (1):
A: Firearm relinquishment grant MOU
Attachment A