OPD to hold policy information sessions; taking public’s suggestions
on December 27, 2010
On December 11, the Oakland Police Department welcomed members of the public and of the press into its headquarters to learn more about how officers are trained to decide when to use force. One Oakland North reporter even got a chance to make that decision using an interactive video simulation. Before letting visitors hold and shoot the laser gun used in the simulation though, officers went step by step through the laws and OPD policies surrounding when they use force.
As part of Police Chief Anthony Batts’ initiative to be in better touch with the public about how the police department operates, more information sessions are planned for 2011. Subjects for each session haven’t been chosen yet though and the police are looking for suggestions. The goal is for the sessions to explain the policies that are in place and in some cases to gather feedback on how the policy is working or not working.
Oakland North wants to know more about these policies too, so we’re collecting your input to send on to the police. Want to know more about the steps police go through when they respond to burglaries? How investigators gather and use eye witness accounts of a crime? What standard procedures are for arresting or detaining juveniles? Add your comments below and we’ll gather that into an email to send to the OPD.
Image: Officer Chris Saunders fires a laser gun at an on-screen armed robber during an interactive training scenario at Oakland police headquarters on Saturday.
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Oakland North is an online news service produced by students at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and covering Oakland, California. Our goals are to improve local coverage, innovate with digital media, and listen to you–about the issues that concern you and the reporting you’d like to see in your community. Please send news tips to: oaklandnorthstaff@gmail.com.
Questions for OPD:
How does OPD plan to begin to address the level of distrust in the community?
When will OPD realize that they must begin to contribute to their own pension as do other people in this economy?
When will OPD support a civilianized review board?
How does OPD plan to work as efficiently as possible in this time of too few officers? Are there further responsibilities in OPD that can be civilianized so that we have the highly trained and compensated officers doing front-line police work?
How can Oakland attract more native Oaklanders to work on the force or incentivize officers to live in Oakland?
(Although these questions may seem critical, I am VERY appreciative of all the hard work that OPD does in this difficult city – but I think we need your cooperation to make this a better place and that is the spirit in which these questions are posed.)