Police

Oakland City Council weighs budget cuts, police officer layoffs

In a preview of what is likely to be a contentious budget meeting June 24, the Oakland City Council Tuesday night heard residents’ complaints about potentially laying off up to 200 police officers and staff in an attempt to balance the city’s fiscal year 2010 – 11 budget, which starts July 1.

Oakland residents react to Mehserle jury selection

Many North Oakland residents said they were in disbelief after learning Tuesday afternoon that the jury in the Johannes Mehserle trial won’t include any African Americans. “It’s a slap to the face of people with color,” said Oakland resident Audra Robinson at the MacArthur BART station Wednesday.

Hearing date for North Oakland gang injunction proposal pushed back

The proposed Oakland gang injunction has, in recent weeks, been the focus of heated listserv debates, community meetings and a rally held Thursday afternoon in front of the Alameda County Superior Court. The injunction, which aims to restrict certain behaviors of members of the North Side Oakland gang, has sparked considerable debate about the balance between crime prevention and individual rights. But supporters and detractors of the injunction will have to wait for a definitive pronouncement on its future.

OPD goes undercover to get young prostitutes off the street

“There’s another one there,” the undercover cop says to me from the driver’s seat. He gestures up the street with a nod. Half a block ahead, I can see who he is talking about: a young woman crosses the street wearing tight jeans tucked into black leather knee-high boots with tall, spiky heels. Her black hair hangs in a braid pulled through the white sequined baseball cap covering her head.  She wears a black tank top with thin straps, and…

As more Oakland youth join the sex trade, law enforcement explores alternatives to incarceration

For decades, the law enforcement and justice systems have treated juvenile sex workers as criminals, not victims, arresting and locking them up. Now the Oakland Police Department, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office and an Oakland nonprofit that works with sexually exploited youth are exploring alternatives to incarceration. But what’s the best way to do it?