Police
Members of local police accountability and activist groups say that conflicts of interest, unaccountable staff and lack of transparency prevent the Oakland Police Commission from being able to police the police.
Some Oakland experts wonder if AB 392, a new law that will limit police use of lethal force, can actually save lives.
The Oakland Police Department (OPD) has increased its response following recent sideshow activity. Last Sunday, a large contingent of law enforcement officers took the streets to combat the illegal gatherings, which are informal demonstrations of automotive stunts, often held in vacant lots or in public intersections. This weekend, they will do the same. Officers will be accompanied by air support along with regional law enforcement partners, teaming up to deter sideshow participation by issuing citations, making arrests and towing vehicles….
After more than five hours of public comment and heated debate, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to approve nearly all of an ad hoc committee’s recommendations to demilitarize the county’s controversial Urban Shield annual training program. They voted 4-0 to eliminate SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) deployment exercises and the event’s weaponry and military gadget show, shifting the focus of the training event to natural disaster preparedness. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office launched the annual Urban…
In the September, 2017, death of Marcellus Toney, there is one thing that is undeniable: He died in police custody after he was hit by a Taser. But exactly why he died and who is liable for his death is still unclear.
Incarceration doesn’t just affect the incarcerated, it alters the lives of their loved ones as well. Families struggle to maintain these relationships because of the financial and emotional burdens that the prison system places on them.
Community Works is a nonprofit organization in Oakland that provides services for formerly incarcerated people. These include parenting classes and groups that help men discuss ways they can overcome “toxic” masculine behaviors. For the past year, Community Works has hosted a weekly “restorative justice circle,” also known as a “citizens’ circle,” in their office for people who have been paroled after initially being sentenced to life in prison. There are two separate groups that meet on Tuesday and Wednesday nights to…
Fresh Lifelines for Youth’s Law Program offers Oakland high school students a unique opportunity to learn about the criminal justice system and how it might affect them in their own lives.
Captain Tony Jones of the Oakland Police Department spoke at a city council meeting in September about the number of abandoned cars in East Oakland. A large number of the homeless people who live in their cars have complained that their cars, which serve as their shelters, are being towed.