4 ms·

How much did crime go up? How much did the population increase? What other factors were there? Those would be helpful data points too.

by ericmay 2mo ago

MaxGabriel 2mo ago
Looks like population is up roughly 10% in that time period https://www.neilsberg.com/insights/oakland-ca-population-by-year/ https://www.neilsberg.com/insights/oakland-ca-population-by-...
- ericmay 2mo ago
  What about crime?
triceratops 2mo ago
Summary: population up by the same amount as staffing, crime flat or lower (if you're measuring per-capita). Population increased 12% between 2010 and 2020. Total homicides, not per 100k, were roughly the same - 95 vs 110. There was a marked increase in homicides during the Covid years but it dropped back down in 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Demographi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Crime
- ericmay 2mo ago
  I'm not an expert in police staffing levels, just poking around and asking questions. This seems interesting from your second link: > The number of Oakland Police Department officers has varied from a low of 626 (in 1996 and in 2012) to a high of 814 (in 2002). There were 723 officers at the end of 2015. The city's strategic plan recommended 925 officers, and an independent study commissioned by the city in the mid-1990s recommended 1,200 officers. As of 2025, the city employed only 675 police officers, budgeted for only 600, and of these, 100 were on leave. Maybe that explains some of the overtime numbers?
  - triceratops 2mo ago
    1 in 6 officers were on leave the entire year? What is that about? Like I wrote in another comment, both can be simultaneously true. The department is both understaffed and possibly does not manage its overtime well.
    - ericmay 2mo ago
      > 1 in 6 officers were on leave the entire year? What is that about? No clue my friend. Public sector unions do weird things. > Like I wrote in another comment, both can be simultaneously true. The department is both understaffed and possibly does not manage its overtime well. I didn't see that comment, but I don't disagree with you. I was just trying to understand a little more about the staffing levels.

How much did crime go up? How much did the population increase? What other factors were there? Those would be helpful data points too.

by ericmay 2mo ago

How much did crime go up? How much did the population increase? What other factors were there? Those would be helpful data points too.

MaxGabriel 2mo ago

Looks like population is up roughly 10% in that time period https://www.neilsberg.com/insights/oakland-ca-population-by-year/ https://www.neilsberg.com/insights/oakland-ca-population-by-...

ericmay 2mo ago
What about crime?

triceratops 2mo ago

Summary: population up by the same amount as staffing, crime flat or lower (if you're measuring per-capita). Population increased 12% between 2010 and 2020. Total homicides, not per 100k, were roughly the same - 95 vs 110. There was a marked increase in homicides during the Covid years but it dropped back down in 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Demographics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Demographi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Crime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland,_California#Crime

ericmay 2mo ago
I'm not an expert in police staffing levels, just poking around and asking questions. This seems interesting from your second link: > The number of Oakland Police Department officers has varied from a low of 626 (in 1996 and in 2012) to a high of 814 (in 2002). There were 723 officers at the end of 2015. The city's strategic plan recommended 925 officers, and an independent study commissioned by the city in the mid-1990s recommended 1,200 officers. As of 2025, the city employed only 675 police officers, budgeted for only 600, and of these, 100 were on leave. Maybe that explains some of the overtime numbers?
- triceratops 2mo ago
  1 in 6 officers were on leave the entire year? What is that about? Like I wrote in another comment, both can be simultaneously true. The department is both understaffed and possibly does not manage its overtime well.
  - ericmay 2mo ago
    > 1 in 6 officers were on leave the entire year? What is that about? No clue my friend. Public sector unions do weird things. > Like I wrote in another comment, both can be simultaneously true. The department is both understaffed and possibly does not manage its overtime well. I didn't see that comment, but I don't disagree with you. I was just trying to understand a little more about the staffing levels.