Even before the layoffs, the police department’s pension issue and the Johannes Mehserle verdict, there is limited time for the chief to reflect on his work so far in Oakland. And while Batts reaffirmed his commitment to being the Oakland police chief, it’s clear many of priorities have changed in light of the recent layoffs of 80 cops.

In a recent phone conversation, Batts discussed how he keeps up his morale, the OPD Strategic Framework and his plans to recalibrate the police department, in light of the recent downsizing of his force.

Batts called the police layoffs demoralizing, but also said he was determined to move forward.

“My reality is now I have to prioritize our goals and free up officers to do work in the streets. One area we’re looking at it developing hot spot policing,” he said. “Hot spot policing is looking at areas of the city that need our help the most. And so we’re focusing some of our limited resources on those areas.”

Batts said it’s been a challenge to keep up with the demands for service in the city, but he’s proud of the work the department has been doing to lower the call to service response times.

“This has been a blow to the department, we have less resources to work with,” Batts said. “Losing 80 officers has had a dramatic effect on the department … there’s no two ways about it. But, nevertheless, our job is to do the best we can to make Oakland a safe and secure city and if we can keep a laser focus on our goals, we’ll come out in good shape.”

Batts also said he’s looking forward to an upcoming summit with federal agencies to help in reducing violent crime in the city.

“I’m looking forward to working with our federal partners to help deal with a number of issues we’re dealing with,” he said of the summit, which was held Aug. 24.

Batts also is not backing down from publicly stating that the department needs more police officers.

“In order for us to get on top of this demand and make a measurable difference we have to grow as a department,” he said. “The empirical date shows that we need to grow as a police department. When you look at the 2006 average for large cities in the state the average is 659 incidents. Anaheim is the lowest and Oakland is at 1,592 incidents. Sacramento, the closest comparable city to us is at 866. This shows you that we have a measured amount of demand. We have a dramatic workload. If you look at San Francisco that has a little under a million residents you’ll see 705 incidents. And they have 2,500 officers in San Francisco.”

But with Oakland standing a good chance of losing even more police officers in the next several months, as opposed to hiring or staving off layoffs, Batts has put in place a number of stopgap measures.

“We’ve taken officers who’ve been on desk duty and having them take low-grade reports,” Batts said. “We’ve also looked at shifting our response to some incidents so we can free up our officers to focus on important items like gangs, guns and drugs.”

In addition, Oakland Police have decided to eliminate specialized units including problem solving officers, walking officers, the OPD probation and corrections team and the department’s targeted enforcement task force.

Even with the current challenges, Batts said the Strategic Framework is very much in play.

“I knew it was a stretch goal for the city and department even when we were at 803 officers,” he said. “I wanted to know if the city had the fortitude and desire to go forward with those goals. I’ve been out in the community … . I’ve been to about 80 to 90 meetings and I asked if this is something that the community wants and everyone has said that they want to see us put forward a genuine effort.”

But instead of Batts talking about Oakland being one of the safest cities in California in the next few years, he’s scaled down his plan.

Read Part 1: New OPD chief tries to fight Oakland’s downward spiral  & Part 2: One Year Later: Oakland Chief Batts prepares game plan for department, city;  &  Part 3: Oakland Residents Remain Positive Despite Reduced Police Force, continued Tenson; Part 4: One Year Later: How will Oakland’s fall election impact the city, OPD?

Acknowledgements: Oakland Local thanks Spot.us, which helped us raise the money to fund this series, Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig for editing these pieces, and Jennifer Inez Ward for all her research and writing.

Read more coverage of the Oakland PD here.http://oaklandlocal.com/tags/OPD

When Anthony Batts became the new police chief of Oakland, there was little indication he knew how deep the financial problems were. But these days, it is all too clear that Oakland’s budget issues have a direct effect on the police department.

Money woes will weigh heavily on Oakland voters this November election. That’s because Oakland is struggling with a$30.5 million budget deficitfor this year, and next year’s budget gap is projected to reach $50 million.

Some put the city’s structural deficit for the next four years at$400 million. And City Hall’s ownrecent projection shows a structural deficit of $589 million over five years.

City officials claim that they’ve had the rug pulled from under them by the Great Recession. But that’s only part of the story.

Not only has Oakland not saved money for a rainy day, it has dug a major financial debt that is turning into a black hole. To make matters worse, the public safety portion of the city’s general fund budget is greatly unbalanced and accounts for 75 percent of the budget.

“In the last three years the city’s general fund has went from $480 million to about $400 million,” said City Councilwoman Pat Kernighan. “That’s a huge drop.”

The city has put togethera number of options to begin dealing with the immediate budget problems.

First,City Council put a four-year, $360-per-parceltax on the November ballot to fund police and fire services.

If this measure passes,an agreement with Oakland police will kick in where police officers will begin contributing to their pension plan, a contentious issue that has dragged through the summer.

Next, voters will consider a measure that would tax cannabis dispensaries, production and cultivation by 5 percent and recreational use by 10 percent if cannabis is legalized at the state level.

Voters also will consider a phone tax that would impose a $1.99 fee annually if passed.

The current tax proposals on the ballot this fall would place a sudden, heavy tax, primarily on property owners.

City voters also will be asked to overhaul Measure Y to suspend the minimum staffing levels required to collect the tax. About $6 million was used to help pay for 63 problem solving officers that have now been reassigned to street patrol.

According topublished reports, if voters approve every tax measure sought by the city and the Oakland Unified School District this November, the average Oakland resident would have to pay an extra $627 a year.

Even without the recession, the city was likely to facedeep pain anyway. As a result of heavy reliance on real estate transfer tax during the housing boom in 2001 and 2002, the city awarded generous contracts to its public employees, namely police and fire. Over time, those awards took a heavy toll on the city’s general funds. But, while times were financially good, few in city government were warning of a likely disaster, which would mean the layoff of scores of city workers in 2010.

“We were getting a massive amount of income, about $75 million a year from the real estate transfer tax,” Kernighan said. “The city back then should of been more conservative with their fiscal management and they should of said, ‘You know this is probably not going to go on forever, we shouldn’t let our basic expenses grow. We should put some of that money in reserve for a rainy day.’ And they didn’t. It was like, ‘Oh great the money is there we can have more social programs, we can have more this.’”

It was during this boom time that generous raises and benefits were negotiated with many city unions, including police and fire, Kernighan said. Under the pension system plan the city negotiated, many retired fire and city officers were able to retire at 50 and make close their original salaries, in some cases $100,000.

“What’s really needed is a long term, sustainable public safety measure,” said Bruce Nye of Make Oakland Better Now! “The leadership in Oakland has to have a laser-like focus on cost effective public safety solutions for the city.”

Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan said the most immediate strategy for the Council is to work with the Oakland Police Department in redeploying police officers in the most strategic way possible.

“I also feel that we need to work on the long-term financial situation,” Kaplan said. “The ideal solution would be to deal with the police pension cost. Most cities no longer do what we do.”

Lowering police pension costs would allow the city to have more funds to hire more officers, she said.

So far, almost all solutions offered fall short.

“Sworn police and firefighters in the Bay Area, and also many other public employees, were treated very well when things were going well economically,” Nye said. “But, it’s also a two-way street and something has to give. One way or another, it has to be less expensive benefits.”

Nye said dollars don’t always equal a feeling of safety.

“One of the first things Batts said was that Oakland has one of the most expensive police departments  and yet not everyone feels safe,”

“I don’t think we’ll get out of this for a while,” Nye said. “I think we have a bigger problem than the loss  of 80 officers or 200 officers.”

This fall, we have a citywide election that has a handful ofrevenue measures, designed to save the police, shore up city services and overhaul Measure Y.

For many Oaklanders, it’s important that the city begin working on some of its root economic problems.

“We’re going to need economic development,” said Jakada Imani, executive director of the Ella Baker Center. “We’re going to need jobs. We’re going to need educational opportunities. We’re going to need recreational development for young people. We’re going to need the parks to be open and open later during the summer. We’re going to need these things in order to have a safe and thriving and inclusive community.”

Nye said smaller resources is now an everyday reality for the Oakland police.

“Trying to do more with less,” he said. “That’s going to continue to be the challenge.”

Kernighan said residents need to get used to dealing with city budget issues.

“This is a pretty permanent situation for the foreseeable future,” she said. “Nobody expects the economy to revive in a big way in the next five years where our revenue stays pretty flat, which is way too low and yet the cost of providing the same services is the same.”

Tomorrow: OPD Chief reflects on past, future

Read Part 1: New OPD chief tries to fight Oakland’s downward spiral  & Part 2: One Year Later: Oakland Chief Batts prepares game plan for department, city;  &  Part 3: Oakland Residents Remain Positive Despite Reduced Police Force, continued Tenson

Acknowledgements: Oakland Local thanks Spot.us, which helped us raise the money to fund this series, Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig for editing these pieces, and Jennifer Inez Ward for all her research and writing.

Read more coverage of the Oakland PD here. http://oaklandlocal.com/tags/OPD

Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts stood confidently during a press conference this past June, prepared to deliver some bad news.

As a result of recent police layoffs and the city budget situation, Batts was about to ask for federal help to deal with recent hot crime trends in a city that has been repeatedly named one of most dangerous in the nation in 2010.

Facing the bright television camera lights and cluster of microphones, Batts explained the recent layoff of 80 officers by the City Council to deal with budget issues would mean that 44 crimes would now only be reported online. The department was asking for federal help to deal with the expected increase in violent crimes these cuts could trigger.

 There was no question that, as he delivered this bad news, Batts conveyed the strong leadership style that had made him a star, even before he signed the contract to leave Long Beach, California, and become police chief of Oakland.

 Still, such drastic shift in city policing, especially in the first year of his assuming command, many say has put Batts' strategic plan for Oakland at risk.

 A few weeks later, in a phone interview, Batts didn’t mince words when he spoke about what the current situation feels like for him.

 “To be perfectly honest, it was demoralizing losing those officers,” he said. “But I understand what our reality is right now.”

 This January, the pain is likely to get deeper for Batts as it is almost certain Oakland PD will lose a minimum of 22 officers – thanks to a clause included in Measure Y. The measure requires the city to maintain 739 officers on staff in order to get nearly $20 million in funding for violence prevention programs and additional police and fire services. Now with the layoffs, the minimum staffing level has dropped. Some say the $20 million is likely to go away and with it, the salaries for 22 officers.

 To make matters worse, if several ballot measures introduced by City Council do not pass in November, there could be an additional 100 more officers laid off from the Oakland Police Department. One bright spot is the city and the police union recently agreed to a new pension plan for the police force. But that plan is only likely to kick in if a controversial parcel tax is passed. In the meantime, there are some that believe the new pension plan agreement can stave off some of the possible layoffs.

 As Oakland’s new police chief deals with this unexpectedly severe situation, some people are wondering if Batts will stay with the city to finish the fight he begun. And so far, while Batts has enjoyed strong support from many in the community, many are keeping an eye on the city’s weekly crime reports, which continues a positive trend downward.

 “I just know he can find a way,” said Nancy C. Thompson, a lifelong Oakland resident who currently lives in the Lakeshore District. “ Even with everything that’s happened. I still believe he can continue to do some good.”

Batts arrives in Oakland, a star is born 

 By all accounts, Mayor Ron Dellums scored major points by landing Batts in Fall 2009. Coming from Long
Beach, California, he was widely viewed as a star, credited with lowering crime rates and bringing administrative order to the Long Beach Police Department during the seven years he served as chief. Dellums had reached
outside of the Oakland Police Department and tapped a man whose name was being chatted about as a bright light in law enforcement.

 Before leading the Long Beach force, Batts worked department for 20 years. Batts is well educated; he holds a doctorate in public administration, a master’s degree in business management and a bachelor of science in law enforcement administration. Batts also holds certifications and awards from a variety of institutes and training courses.

 The tale is told often about how Batts initially spurned the city’s advances. A new Oakland police chief was needed after the failed Wayne Tucker era. Batts only agreed to take the Oakland gig, he said, after the Lovell Mixon shooting incident, which left four OPD officers dead.

 According to media reports coming out of Long Beach, Batts also may have decided to move up north after it was clear that the Long Beach budget cuts were going to slash the department back to the same level as when he became chief in 2002.

 And when he signed on the dotted line, he said he had every intention of ushering in a new era of policing in Oakland and making it one of the safest large cities in California.

 Batts was quickly embraced by many in Oakland, including those residents hoping for a fundamental change in the police department.

“I think that what’s unique about this chief is that this guy’s willing to take responsibility,” said Jakada Imani , executive director of the Ella Baker Center and a lifelong Oakland resident. “And a lot of the chiefs that have come and gone haven’t been that stand up. That’s a huge advantage. He’s come in and said, ‘I want to be accountable, I want to be responsible. I’m in it.’”

 A challenging city

 Crime has been Oakland’s Achilles’ heel for decades. A brief roll call of nationally-known notorious crimes that happened in Oakland includes the Nut Case Killers; the Chauncey Bailey hit allegedly ordered by members of Your Black Muslim Bakery; the Mixon killing of four police officers; and most recently  Oscar Grant being shot in the back by BART officer Johannes Mehserle in Fruitvale. 

 Relations between many communities and the police are mostly chaotic, going generations back. The Black Panthers were able to rise so quickly in Oakland, in part, because they spoke directly about police brutality.

 West Oakland resident Bam Morris said relations would continue to be broken as long as the police refuse to acknowledge some of the historical community pain.

 “People out here are very frustrated by the police,” Morris said. “The police don’t seem to understand that when they commit brutality or treat these young men as if they’re not human, that there’s going to be repercussions behind that.”

 And community distrust of the police continues to run deep especially after the Mehserle verdict. A few young men at the East Oakland Asian Youth Center said there’s constant tension in the street.

 “I be (sic) on 35th and Mac sometimes we’re just out there standing there and when the police tell us to leave, we leave, but sometimes, they’ll just put me in the (police) car for no reason,” said Jacob, who asked that his last name not be used.

 Peter, 20, who also asked for partial anonymity, said constant patrolling by police officers who are looking for young men not doing right creates an “us-against-them” mentality.

 “Basically, it just grows as my not having respect for them as these things keep happening,” Peter said

Olis Simmons, executive director of YouthUprising, said it will take a great amount of work to build a strong, positive relationship between citizens and the city police.

 “Oakland police have a long legacy,” she said. “The question really now is with a black chief who really is committed to preventing the genocide of young black men, how does he re-craft the department in this new era and how does he begin to build trust that begins to put the legacy that the police department has of misconduct and brutality in an historical perspective as opposed to a continual ongoing perspective? And I think with Batts, we couldn’t have hired a better person. The question is can we treat him right … can we hold on to him?”.

Another challenge the department has faced historically is it has been understaffed and badly managed before Batts came on the scene. And Oakland is a workhorse police department with quite a heavy load.

 “Our workload is second to none with any city in California,” said OPD spokesman Jeff Thomason. “Calls coming in to the Oakland Police Department dispatch center are at around 650,000 every year. If you look at the reports we take for Part One Felony (murder, assault, etc.) we take around 30,000 reports a year.”

 Batts was well aware of Oakland’s issues, some of which mirrored problems Long Beach struggled with when he took the helm of that department. But, although OPD was considered understaffed at 803 officers when Batts took over in October 2009, there were some positive signs – including a downward trend happening with murders, assault and other key indicators.

Tomorrow: Oakland Chief Batts prepares game plan for department, city

Acknowledgements: Oakland Local thanks Spot.us, which helped us raise the money to fund this series, Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig for editing these pieces, and Jennifer Inez Ward for all her research and writing.

Read more coverage of the Oakland PD here. http://oaklandlocal.com/tags/OPD

“I don’t want to be tied to a city that makes people shudder when you talk about that’s where you are going to work or live,” Batts told residents in a town hall meeting March 17 at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension, 4700 Lincoln Ave., in the Oakland hills.

The chief shared an ambitious plan he said would turn Oakland into one of the safest California cities, “both in reality and perception” by the year 2015. He unveiled the plan in February. Wednesday’s meeting was one of a handful the chief planned to talk with community members and get feedback from them.

Batts said, though some expressed doubt he could do it, his tenure in Long Beach proved otherwise.

“Some say, ‘This bald guy is out of his mind,’” Batts said. “Well, there was one
city, Long Beach, that eight years ago was very low in terms of dealing with crime. Today it’s not the safest city in California but it is number four on the list of the safest large cities.”

Batts said Oakland’s reputation was so bad that employees of a San Francisco company threatened to quit when their employer suggested a move to Oakland for cheaper rent.

“That needs to stop,” Batts said. “That’s unacceptable for this community.”

The plan also aims to turn the Oakland Police into a competent department that “provides high quality services in a friendly manner,” and one that is “trusted, respected and valued” by all communities.

Batts said Oakland must first acknowledge there is a problem.

“We want to be the safest big city in California, but in order for us to get to that point, we must understand where we are today,” said Batts.

He showed a PowerPoint presentation of reports that rank Oakland among the least safe large cities in California. The chief said he would transform the department into one that responds rapidly to emergency calls.

“When you pick up the phone and say, ‘I need help,’ we have to do that,” Batts said. “The truth of the matter is that we don’t do that very well.”

Batts said there were times when it had taken Oakland police officers up to 14 hours to respond to burglaries. A 2009 police Communications Division report estimated that it took officers 15 minutes to respond to emergencies. The standard time should be five minutes, according to the report cited by Assistant Chief Howard Jordan.

“We are not doing a good job of being there when you need us,” Jordan said.

Jordan said, however, the department has seen a lot of improvement in the past four months, a result of increased movement of police from headquarters to the field. The department has also acquired state-of-the-art technology to analyze workload to help send officers to calls, he said.

Batts said the success of his plan would depend of police winning the trust of Oakland residents. He added that some neighborhoods would require more work than others.

“There are many people who trust the Police Department, but in the eastern end of our city, the trust level is not as high,” Batts said. “In some parts we don’t do a very good job working with the community. We need to change that.”

Responding to Batts’ plan, residents said they were impressed.

“I think he was dynamic,” said Upper Rockridge resident Trisha Gorman. “It sounds like he is bringing a very different policing strategy.”

Joseph Johnson, a 23-year-old East Oakland resident, said he thought Batts’s plan was impressive because it touched on some major issues like police and community involvement. A greater number of officers need to go to neighborhoods with low levels of trust and develop relationships with residents, said Johnson, who works as a leadership team member at Youth Uprising, an East Oakland-based organization of young adults.

“The answer to improving trust is pretty simple,” said Johnson. “Mistrust comes from not knowing someone. If we had police officers attending community gatherings where we can have food, dancing and laughing, instead of them being in uniform and confrontational, you’ll see the relationship with the community improving.”

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