Broken Window, Social Programs,
and Half a Police Force

A resident of the Maxwell Park neighborhood reports:

I was working in my back yard this evening when I heard some kids in the back yard of the house next door that has been foreclosed. I heard glass break, looked over the fence, saw a broken window, a brick and some teenage girls.

I walked to the front of my house to see two teenage girls walk out from behind the house and start walking down the street. I followed them, they went around the corner, and I watched them from the corner as I called 911 to report the crime.

The girls didn't go far and met up with another group of girls on the next corner.

I was on hold with 911 for about ten minutes before I was able to get through to the dispatch. They told me that they were really busy, not to follow the teens, and that it would be a couple of hours before they could send anyone.

About an hour later, the police dispatch called me back, and told me they would not be sending anyone after all.

Never did see any police come by, guess they are too understaffed or busy with other more important things.

We often hear the mayor, city councilmembers, and their political groupies lecture us about a "comprehensive approach" combining police enforcement with social programs for "at-risk" youth.

The police department had no officers available to detain these vandals. No police had the opportunity to take the girls to their parents and offer a choice: if you pay for that window and get your daughters into a program that teaches simple respect for other people, we won't turn them over for prosecution.

No police to catch the vandals, and they aren't going into social programs on their own. They're just laughing at City Hall.

Instead, as another Maxwell Park resident observed about this incident, "The threat of police response should be a real one. The kids know that it is not, and so do their older friends. My fellow neighborhood residents should all be angry. They should be asking themselves if this would be allowed in Piedmont or Montclair."

A resident asked on the Maxwell Park email list, "Mrs. Quan, Do you honestly think that we have enough police in Oakland? It's a simple yes or no question." Councilmember Quan replied:

"No there are not enough cops. I wouldn't be working so hard to get more if there were. And right now there are [more] cops in your neighborhood than Montclair so your recurring refrain is getting old. Would like to see you at the NCPC, I was there...haven't seen you for a while. We might have a real discussion then."

The city of Oakland is at risk, and we have yet to see a councilmember who is doing what needs to be done – testy claims to the contrary.