Ceasefire
A new study released this month suggests that Ceasefire, Oakland’s primary violent crime reduction strategy, is working.
The sidewalk in front of the Easter Hill United Methodist Church in Richmond was all but empty on Monday at 11 am. A cyclist slowly meandered by on Cutting Boulevard, the clinking of his bike chain breaking up the white noise created by a constant stream of passing cars. The doors of the church were locked, the interior dimly lit by sunlight sneaking through the high windows in the nave. In a few hours, Easter Hill would come to…
On Friday morning, the Oakland Police Department Ceasefire Team and the FBI arrested five people and recovered weapons and drugs in a raid targeting the Ghost Town gang.
Individuals and groups work to diversify the local police force to show Oaklanders that their community is being properly represented.
Voters will be deciding this November on Measure Z, which if approved would continue a parking and parcel tax that funds public safety services and violence prevention programming.
California Assemblymember Nancy Skinner has proposed legislation that would allow for restraining orders to be placed on individuals who are deemed at risk for violent behavior with a firearm.
For six weeks this summer, no one was murdered in Oakland, the longest stretch without an unlawful killing since the 1990s. That streak was broken on Sunday, September 14.
After serving for a year as interim police chief, Sean Whent, an 18-year veteran of the force, was named permanent chief of Oakland Police Department by Mayor Jean Quan at Oakland City Hall Wednesday. “As a no-nonsense chief, he has led the Department’s reorganization, built a strong leadership team and strengthened police collaboration with neighborhood leaders,” Quan said in making the appointment. “We’ve made significant progress in the last year, reducing crime and completing mandated federal reforms. We have much…