Dellums Steps Up Attack on Public Safety

In two extraordinary days Oakland mayor Ron Dellums made it clear that he is not simply apathetic about the lack of public safety in the city. He insists on the de-policing of Oakland while tens of thousands of residents suffer robberies, burglaries, vehicle smash-ins and other violent attacks every year.

Dellums launched the attacks at his state of the city address on Jan. 27, 2009 and a press conference the next day where police chief Wayne Tucker announced his resignation.

Toward the end of about ten minutes of unqualified praise for Tucker, Dellums made an astounding choice of evidence for his support. He told a story about a meeting in Sacramento with the governor and other mayors. The subject was crime and violence. As discussion moved around the room Tucker wrote four words on a piece of paper and handed it to Dellums: prevention, intervention, enforcement, and sustainability. Dellums drew the lesson that Tucker understands we "cannot solve the problem of crime by arresting our way through it." Dellums crowed that this chief "saw the totality of it."

Listen to Dellums relate this incident as though Moses had handed him tablets of stone here. (1 min. 30 secs. More remarks were also broadcast by KCBS TV)

Dellums wants a police chief who does not do policing. Dellums buries policing as the third item in a four-item list, and Tucker is happy to go along. Hey, that lets Tucker off the hook for the 30 percent increase in assaults and other violent crimes during his four years at the Oakland police department.

Dellums repeats the ridiculous slogan that we cannot arrest our way out of crime. As reporters have shown with analysis of public records, when investigations and arrests go down, criminals learn there are no consequences and crime goes up.

Dellums related the embarrassing little Sacramento incident while trying to mount a defense of his departing police chief. The fact that he included it in his statement shows that while nature abhors a vacuum, Oakland government does not. Dellums also remarked that he is in no hurry to get a new permanent chief of police.

In his state of the city address the day before the press conference, Dellums announced one new initiative in the policing area.

More police? No, Dellums canceled an officer hiring academy in December and has already said staffing will drift down indefinitely, falling below the promised 803-officer level this summer.

A stand against the culture of disrespect that dominates Oakland streets and an end to City Hall's conciliation with thug culture? Not a word.

Instead, Dellums announced he will appoint a citizen commission to ponder police review. It will add another layer on top of the Negotiated Settlement Agreement that has tied down the department in bureaucratic harassments for years.

In his state of the city speech Dellums focused on homicides, nearly ignoring all other crime. (His challenge that "we" bring crime down by 10 percent this year was blather that will soon be forgotten.) Homicides are a distinct category. They move up or down in little correlation with robberies, burglaries, and assaults.

The fact is "those most likely to be killed or to kill [are] often street-level drug dealers with extensive records." "Police say drugs – either someone involved being a dealer or using drugs before a killing – played a role in possibly 80 percent of the homicides."(Oakland Tribune, Jan. 1, 2005 and Jan. 2, 2006)

Dellums is highly selective when he emotes about suffering and grieving. Oakland approached paralysis because of a series of restaurant takeover robberies, but the mayor was nowhere to be found. Now, using the Oscar Grant incident that involves BART police, not Oakland officers, Dellums has made it clear that he has absolutely no concern for the safety of 99 percent of Oakland residents.