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>....with the aim of compensating for an understaffed police department... When I left Oakland in 2009, I was throwing away one of the free, local papers when

>....with the aim of compensating for an understaffed police department... When I left Oakland in 2009, I was throwing away one of the free, local papers when something caught my eye. It was a short article stating that the Oakland PD truancy rate was, I believe, 37%. So, a significant portion of Oakland PD don't show up for their shifts. Perhaps there is a legitimate reason for this. Unfortunately, every time I try to dig up this statistic, I just get results regarding student truancy efforts by Oakland PD. Also, in 2008, Oakland PD blew $15,000 on, I believe, Screamin' Eagle exhausts for their police Harleys. After complaints of hearing loss, they took the pipes back off, then spent $1,200 on a 'study' to test whether they increased safety (they didn't), caused hearing damage (they do), and complied with noise standards (they blatantly violate Federal noise laws, and OPD doesn't care). The article I'm looking at is unclear as to whether or not the $15k was in addition to the initial cost of $500 per bike, from before the hearing complaints, removal, study, and re-installation. I miss a lot of things about Oakland, but Oakland PD's antics are not among them. I don't blame people one bit for wanting private security.

ballard 13y ago
It sounds absolutely ridiculous to pay someone else to do what the police are getting paid to ostensibly do. It also further divides a community between protected and unprotected. Perhaps someone that knows more about OPD could chime in: 0. Can't slackers be fired? 1. Is there a recruitment problem that constrains 0.? 2. Is leadership failing to motivate and/or inspire morale? 3. How many OPD regular officers live in Oakland? (I would wager it's very high or very low.) Postscript: I love Oakland, both its gems and its warts. It's hard to find good music in the Bay Area, especially live blues.
- krakensden 13y ago
  I don't know the specifics of shift truancy, it's possible that management is making impossible demands- but OPD has a plummeting budget to work with, and has been flunking out of federal receivership for years. Leadership regularly gets booted for that offense. Probably ~90% live outside the city: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-high-costs-of-outsourcing-policeandnbsp/Content?oid=3306199 http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-high-costs-of-outs... Detroit passed a fatwa requiring police to live within the city a while back, I'm not sure it solved anything.
- bandy 13y ago
  > It's hard to find good music in the Bay Area, especially live blues. Surely you've missed finding out about JJ's…or you live on the opposite side of the bay from them. Long, long ago, in a valley far, far away, people would drive from Berkeley to Sunnyvale (or the opposite trip) to meet their friends for dinner. (Midweek, even!) Traffic wasn't nearly as bad then.
michaelt 13y ago
This surprised me so I googled it. Lo and behold [1]: According to an independent arbitrator last November, the daily absentee rate for the Oakland police department was more than 40 percent. [...] Oakland's rate is at least twice as high as comparable departments. Michael Rains, attorney for the Oakland Police Officers Association, did talk to us. He attributes many past absences to Oakland's high injury rate and current and future ones to a new 12-hour work schedule. [1] http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=5986477 http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=59864...
- krakensden 13y ago
  12 hour shifts are too long for people making life and death decisions.

ballard 13y ago

It sounds absolutely ridiculous to pay someone else to do what the police are getting paid to ostensibly do. It also further divides a community between protected and unprotected. Perhaps someone that knows more about OPD could chime in: 0. Can't slackers be fired? 1. Is there a recruitment problem that constrains 0.? 2. Is leadership failing to motivate and/or inspire morale? 3. How many OPD regular officers live in Oakland? (I would wager it's very high or very low.) Postscript: I love Oakland, both its gems and its warts. It's hard to find good music in the Bay Area, especially live blues.

krakensden 13y ago
I don't know the specifics of shift truancy, it's possible that management is making impossible demands- but OPD has a plummeting budget to work with, and has been flunking out of federal receivership for years. Leadership regularly gets booted for that offense. Probably ~90% live outside the city: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-high-costs-of-outsourcing-policeandnbsp/Content?oid=3306199 http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/the-high-costs-of-outs... Detroit passed a fatwa requiring police to live within the city a while back, I'm not sure it solved anything.
bandy 13y ago
> It's hard to find good music in the Bay Area, especially live blues. Surely you've missed finding out about JJ's…or you live on the opposite side of the bay from them. Long, long ago, in a valley far, far away, people would drive from Berkeley to Sunnyvale (or the opposite trip) to meet their friends for dinner. (Midweek, even!) Traffic wasn't nearly as bad then.

michaelt 13y ago

This surprised me so I googled it. Lo and behold [1]: According to an independent arbitrator last November, the daily absentee rate for the Oakland police department was more than 40 percent. [...] Oakland's rate is at least twice as high as comparable departments. Michael Rains, attorney for the Oakland Police Officers Association, did talk to us. He attributes many past absences to Oakland's high injury rate and current and future ones to a new 12-hour work schedule. [1] http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=5986477 http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=59864...

krakensden 13y ago
12 hour shifts are too long for people making life and death decisions.