Guardian Angels Come to Oakland

In a sign of the complete failure of City government, the Guardian Angels will patrol the Grand Lake district at the invitation of the local neighborhood crime prevention council (NCPC).

Resident Nic Montesclaros, unable to live with the rising tide of armed robbers, home invasions, and merchant holdups, contacted the Guardian Angels, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle. The NCPCs are groups of residents working under supervision by City government. The fact that the Grand Lake NCPC went to the Angels underscores the failure of City Hall to fulfill the first duty of municipal government – to maintain public safety.

Councilmember Pat Kernighan welcomed the Angels to her district with an astounding remark: "Oakland is experiencing a really serious problem with robberies, which we haven't been able to stop," she said. "I'm willing to embrace creative solutions."

Oakland has only half a police department, comparing its numbers per population with Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland and most major cities. The city council is responsible for making a solid commitment to bring the department up to at least 1,100 police, from a little over 700 currently. Neither the new mayor nor any of the councilmembers has stepped forward.

Instead, councilmembers float little gimmicks. Councilmember Brunner wants to hire at-risk youth to escort people at BART stations. Councilmember Kernighan finally agrees that the scheme of renting police to the Oakland Airport for $4 million a year must end.

Council president De La Fuente nibbles at the edges by calling for hiring two or three dozen technician support staff for the police department. Councilmember Quan advises residents to walk in pairs to their cars at night. Councilmember at large Henry Chang was last heard suggesting that more "black and whites" would help, but he was referring to Chinese pandas for the zoo.

The invitation to the Guardian Angels may help the Grand Lake district for awhile. But their arrival is the clearest sign to date that City government is completely dysfunctional, unwilling to meet its first responsibility of staffing the police department.