What Is a Homicide "Trend"?

"Violent crime rates have dropped; the murder rate declined by 23 percent last year. These are positive trends."
– Mayor Brown's assistant Gil Duran in letter to Berkeley Daily Planet, Dec. 9, 2005.

Yes, homicides went from 114 in 2003 to 88 in 2004. However, the one-year "trend" is over. In 2004 police focused massive resources on violence. Because OPD is understaffed by half and had to abandon other duties, residents suffered a wave of "non-violent" burglaries, boom cars, and drug dealing at new or previously cleaned-up street spots.

2005 Homicides Surpass 2004

With a killing on Dec. 28, the homicide count for 2005 reached 94, surpassing the 88 killed in 2004.

Oakland had virtually the same number of homicides as San Francisco, which has a population more than one and a half times Oakland's. San Francisco had 96 killings in 2005.

A year ago, City officials celebrated the reduction from 2003's tally of 114, and they publicly voiced their expectation that the downward trend would continue. During 2005 Chief Tucker continued to take resources from routine police services for Oakland residents, diverting them into special anti-violence operations. One police sergeant floated the idea that we can have our cake and eat it too, noting that the previous success on the homicide count came despite "some of the lowest staffing levels we've had in years," (S.F. Chronicle, Dec. 29, 2004)

No one favors homicides, of course. The problem is that Oakland has half a police department. The number of police officers per 10,000 residents (18) is half that of Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland and most major cities. Oakland cannot have both peaceful streets and a low homicide count – until it boosts the number of police officers dramatically.

Instead, the City actually employs several dozen fewer officers than when the city council wrote the Measure Y tax measure in July 2004.

Image Crisis Stirs City Hall to Frenzy

"We need a coordinated immediate attack against the criminals who are running amok in Oakland. The No. 1 priority of this city is to protect its residents," said Oakland mayor Jerry Brown at a hastily-convened city council meeting Feb. 28.

"This is a crisis we cannot pass by," echoed councilmember and mayoral wannabe Ignacio De La Fuente. He and Brown were quoted in a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, March 1, 2006. (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/03/01/BAGIQHGGEE1.DTL)

Brown is certainly correct that the first priority of city government must be peaceful neighborhoods, but this long-standing issue was not his concern. Instead, he is worrried about the spike in killings. The 19 homicides so far this year are almost triple the seven homicides at this time in 2005. In turn, the year 2005 saw a rise in the killing count over 2004.

Brown, a candidate for the state's top law enforcement post, attorney general, is worried all right – for his political future. He thinks he can ignore the everyday lawlessness that dominates Oakland neighborhoods, but killings are bad for business.

Police chief Tucker said in the next week to ten days he will pull most of the 27 police working at the Oakland airport to patrol the city. Tucker said the few remaining at the airport could handle "essential anti-terror duties." The obvious question is, why were 20-some police at the airport all these past months, months when the chief imposed mandatory overtime on every patrol officer, months when the chief abolished patrol beats to cover up the lack of patrol in the neighborhoods?

The rushed council meeting also told the city administrator to move officers from nonessential desk jobs to the streets. Again, the move has the scent of desperate frenzy. It appears to be responsive but cannot last. The council told the city administrator to report back in one week on March 7, which is coincidentally the date of the "Enough Is Enough!" rally, already backed by a petition of more than 600 signatures.

Newspaper reports gave no indication of a council commitment to expanding Oakland's half a police department to at least 1,100 officers, with a major plan to achieve that goal.

The Feb. 28 council meeting overshadowed a staged event in front of a liquor store on High Street. City attorney John Russo, defender of the City's bait-and-switch on Measure Y police and now a candidate for state assembly, announced a minor victory against the M& W Liquor Store. Building owner Akral Al Alzzani agreed to evict the store operator, but councilmember Jean Quan conceded the store operator contests the eviction. According to the Oakland Tribune, neighbor Ralph Kanz said the real problem is "lack of police."

The other prominent mayoral candidates, Ron Dellums and Nancy Nadel, have not addressed police understaffing.