Oakland can “own” its crime problem by admitting that crime is a very big civic burden, that it is destroying much of what is good about Oakland and that it stands in the way of Oakland’s future.

And last, but far from least, that there are many things that we can do about crime that we have failed to do up to now. What we must do will be complicated and it will be difficult but we can do it if we have a plan and we create the means to carry out the plan.

Let’s hope that the mayor and the City Council can step up to this kind of ownership. They definitely haven’t been able to do so in the past and if they continue not to do so then they must be replaced by real leaders who can.  

Oakland has over the years instituted bits and pieces of programs to deal with crime, especially juvenile crime, but it’s quite clear that these programs haven’t worked or haven’t worked well enough - we’ve still got plenty of crime. So we need to assess how our existing programs are doing and find out what additional programs we need in order to have a complete and comprehensive plan that will work. There are no doubt very many ways to go about this assessment and planning work, but an obvious and easily-available one is waiting for us on-line from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Take a look at it; it’s very complete and well-thought-out. It’s fully-researched and evidence-based. Assessing existing programs properly is very important because even the best-conceived plans cannot work if they are not implemented properly. The National Gang Center has abundant information on what works, what does not and where well-conceived programs can fall apart because of poor implementation.  We in Oakland need to be very clear that we do not have to reinvent the wheel in order to develop and implement an effective anti-violence plan.

But we do have to accept our failings and work hard to remedy them.

Obviously Oakland has instituted a number of programs focusing on young people at risk for violence through Kids First and Measure Y, mostly for middle-school-aged youngsters from about 12 to 18. What are notably lacking in Oakland are effective programs that focus on youngsters when they are most vulnerable - when they first develop social problems at much younger ages because of family dysfunction. The on-line strategic planning tool looks at programs designed for several much younger age-groups than middle-school youngsters, beginning with children aged 0 to 3 years. Yes, these first years are critical for children to be able to develop socially.  

Also notably missing in Oakland is what is usually referred to in professional circles as violence “suppression.” This is not a good word because it itself implies violence and suggests military-type policing approaches which are likely to interfere with civil liberties. I will refer to this anti-violence program area as “gang social network dissolution.” Which it is. It is a vital, and perhaps the central part of reducing youth violence. It must be done by sworn police officers because it is dangerous, often physically-confrontative work which is far from the province of social workers. Some police officers may well have social-worker training, but most social workers will not be comfortable having to carry a firearm for self-protection.

In Oakland, there has been a major divide between community groups which support violence prevention programs and those which support more effective police work. This is a false dichotomy and Oakland’s leaders need to learn the truth and to articulate it to the public. Violence prevention programs alone cannot reduce violent crime. Young people get involved in gangs precisely because there are gangs. Young people are terrorized by gangs and one solution they choose to deal with the terror is to join a gang which promises some protection. Gangs are very powerful social networks which seem very attractive and interesting to youngsters who have problems at home and at school.   

Gang social networks are the only social worlds available to some youngsters, so gangs must themselves be dissolved. There is no alternative. In addition, the ongoing terror of gang warfare constantly creates a newly-traumatized population of children who are too anxious and upset to be able to handle schoolwork. Yes, Oakland needs violence prevention programs of all sorts to rescue children from family dysfunction and gang involvement, but the gangs themselves are self-perpetuating and must be taken on directly.  

The bottom line is that Oakland needs both more violence-prevention programs and more police, not to mention further programs to handle other kinds of violence here.

To deal adequately with Oakland’s shortfall in police staffing, we will probably need to have several police academies per year and we will have to come up with something like $50 million annually to pay for 300 to 400 more police as well as for more social programs. Oakland’s current elected leaders seem unable to face up to this challenge. I am convinced that if Oakland owns its crime problem, that a transparent, accountable progressive tax proposal can be created to fund more police. Asking Oakland’s public as in Measure I for new taxes with no guarantee that they will be used to improve public safety is dishonest and unlikely to be successful. 

The real impediment to Oakland’s moving forward on dealing with crime is not in planning or even in funding all the programs needed to carry out a comprehensive, strategic plan. The main impediment is the lack of leadership and management competence in City Hall.

For instance, we need a mayor and Councilmembers who are willing to go out on the street and spread the word about how gun-toting children can avoid being shot and killed by police.

I will discuss how to provide competent public safety management for Oakland in my next essay.

See all stories in this series:

Crime in Oakland: Owning the problem (Community Voices)  http://bit.ly/pxUHdS

Crime in Oakland 2: Creating a Plan http://bit.ly/p2oDzJ

Crime in Oakland 3: Managing It All  http://bit.ly/nkEWIH

Editor's note: This opinion piece is part of the OL series on crime and public safety, "Eyes on the Street." Please email us at editor@oaklandlocal.com if you'd like to share your views on this topic.