City Hall Plugs Hole in Rockridge Dike

Does City Hall have a real solution to restore public safety in Oakland? No, but mayor Dellums and councilmembers know how to rush over and plug a hole in the dike.

Actually, City officials missed the moment in the Grand Lake area when residents went in desperation to the Guardian Angels. Fearing a similar development in Rockridge, City Hall sprang into action. Mayor Dellums himself signed a commentary in the Montclarion newspaper (June 15, 2007).

What does Dellums offer?

• "We are operating robbery suppression operations with 30 officers in the Rockridge neighborhood twice a week." He forgot to add that this is a three-week stopgap, as reported elsewhere in the Montclarion.

• "Patrol officers are focusing their preventative patrols in the Rockridge neighborhood." That's great news for Rockridge, for now. What about Grand Lake, Glenview, Dimond, Elmhurst, Laurel, Maxwell Park, Allendale, Adams Point, Montclair, downtown, Jack London, west Oakland, and all of Oakland with the possible exception of Trestle Glen? The same question applies to another shuffle of resources listed by Dellums: "Walking officers (foot patrol) have been assigned to the Rockridge and Temescal neighborhoods."

• "We have increased staffing in patrol [throughout Oakland] by 40 officers since January." The City did this by taking away community policing officers, supposedly guaranteed by Measure Y. The total number of police remains below the number we had when voters agreed to new Measure Y taxes in 2004.

• Dellums lists several ongoing activities as though they are exciting news of a special response: police department staff are meeting with residents! the police area commander has been analyzing crime statistics! the police lieutenant updates a website with crime news and crime prevention tips! the residents meet regularly in a crime prevention council!

The mayor who plugged a hole in the dike

The mayor also revealed a detail about governor Schwarzenegger's promised anti-gang initiative. According to Dellums, California Highway Patrol officers will perform some traffic functions now done by Oakland police, freeing the latter for other duties. Dellums did not estimate how many officers, when the effort would begin, or how long it would last.

Finally, Dellums announced one promised uptick in prosecution: "the district attorney agreed to deputize several city attorneys to prosecute misdemeanors."

Councilmember Jane Brunner chimed in, too. She revealed that her partner was recently held up walking to a BART station one morning. Maybe this explains Brunner's proposal to hire "at-risk" youth at BART stations. Also, her adult son experienced a home invasion.

"Crime has been the worst I've seen in 40 years," Brunner told a Montclarion reporter. "We all deserve to be safe."

Police chief Tucker tossed in his bromide at a community meeting: "We are 100 percent committed to make it a safe community. It's not going to happen overnight. We need your help." Maybe he and the mayor should coordinate on the tone of their publicity pronouncements.

However, neither Dellums, Brunner, nor any other City official admits that Oakland has only half a police department. Not one of them will commit to the only solution, a solid plan for at least 1,100 police, versus the 732 officers employed today, versus the miserable budgeted goal of 803 officers.

Mayor Dellums' commentary in the Montclarion is another sign of dysfunctional government in Oakland. They plug one hole in the dike, then another – until the day Oakland collapses.