Police
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has agreed to stop requiring female inmates who are arrested and booked into Alameda County jails to take pregnancy tests. This agreement, reached on October 28, comes as an out-of-court settlement to a lawsuit that was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California.
Department officials believe that, with more personnel and better equipment, they will be able to streamline their workflow and stay on top of which guns need to be traced.
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) was granted $1.875 million for creating and preserving 15 community-policing law enforcement jobs.
Activists are promoting Mobile Justice CA, an app created by the ACLU of California which enables users to record and report police actions in their community.
According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, a government agency that provides grants to local and state public agencies for programs to help them enforce traffic laws, Oakland has consistently had the highest rate of hit-and-run crashes of any large city in the state. “In 2014, there were 7,000 traffic collisions, of which 4,000 were hit and runs,” said Officer Glenn Hara, who works in the traffic investigation unit at the Oakland Police Department. Out of those cases, which include incidents with injuries and fatalities as well as more minor cases, such as damage to a parked car, OPD has solved fewer than 2 percent.
Oakland Police Department releases information about “wanted suspect” they are searching for in connection with the fatal shooting of Jasvir Singh, an East Oakland ice cream truck driver.
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.
Merritt’s new law enforcement pre-academy program hopes to recruit students of color to the Oakland Police Force. In a department whose officers’ past use of force against minorities fueled generations of distrust, that can be a hard sell.
Oakland City Council approves police purchase of shotguns and transfer vehicles
The Oakland Police Department’s proposed purchase of shotguns and transfer vehicles were the most hotly contested items discussed at the concurrent Oakland City Council and Oakland Redevelopment Successor meeting Tuesday night. Other business included a year-end presentation by State Assemblymember Rob Bonta (District 18), a presentation of the AC Transit service expansion plan, and an adjustment to parking fees.