Bureaucratic Bloat Undermines Community Policing

Until recently, Neighborhood Service Coordinators (NSCs) were employees of the police department, but not sworn officers, who at their best made community policing work.

The NSC worked with one or a few residents to start a neighborhood crime prevention council, or revitalize a moribund group. He relieved the police of administrative trivia but concentrated residents' concerns to help community policing officers target big problems and get results. The NSCs basically took direction from police lieutenants.

Some NSCs do a great job, others do not. In the latter case, active residents wind up doing an end run around the timeserver. But when a good NSC and those active residents work together, the pace of activity is a marvel to behold.

Instead of improving the NSC system, the City is dismantling it in all but name. A new report from the city administrator documents the destructive changes.

First, all NSCs "will report to the central office [at 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, sixth floor]. After check-in and briefing with the Neighborhood Services Manager, staff can relocate to the neighborhood offices, as appropriate." (City administrator's semi-annual report on Measure Y, filed Feb. 16, 2006 but dated Feb. 28)

More than a waste of time driving around the city is at issue here. The wording indicates the staff will often find it not appropriate even to get out to the beats. However, the real issue is that the NSC manager reports to the city administrator, not the police department. The lieutenants have lost their NSCs.

Second, "Two Lead Neighborhood Service Coordinator positions are needed to decrease the span of supervision from 1:17 NSCs to approximately 1:8." The span problem is a consequence of the removal of NSCs from OPD to the city administrator's office. The lieutenants had three or four NSCs to supervise. Now the NSCs are under the new Manager, who of course needs two deputies as a layer between her and the NSCs themselves.

Such bureaucratic creep is one reason why the City keeps increasing staff without providing any better service to Oakland residents.

To add insult to injury, our understanding is that NSC salaries will continue to be charged to the police department's budget, even though the NSCs essentially work for a manager in the city administrator's office.