A Resolution
Establishing Implementation of the City of Oakland's Community Policing Policy

WHEREAS, the people of Oakland require that their municipal government provide police services in the manner calculated to best insure public safety; and

WHEREAS, for the last two decades cities and police departments across the Untied States have adopted strategies to reduce reliance on 911-response policing and instead utilize approaches known as "Community Oriented Policing," "Problem Oriented Policing," or "Community Policing;" and

WHEREAS, the experience of the police departments which have adopted community policing strategy demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach in both reducing crime levels and increasing public sense of safety; and

WHEREAS, the Oakland Police Department has been a pioneer in the development and utilization of community policing strategies through such programs as Beat Health, Neighborhood Watch, and Home Alert; and assuming a leadership role in comparable efforts by the Oakland Housing Authority; and

WHEREAS, community policing creates a working partnership between the community and the police to analyze neighborhood problems, set priorities, develop strategies, and work together to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, community policing focuses on issues of ongoing public concern rather than specific incidents as reported; and

WHEREAS, community policing employs a comprehensive City inter departmental approach to solving neighborhood problems; and

WHEREAS, community policing assists in the empowerment of neighborhoods by relying on the organization of people in our communities to identify problems, prioritize concerns, and develop solutions which are implemented through the cooperation and collaboration of neighborhood residents, public employees, and public officials;

NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Oakland hereby adopts the following policies for the implementation and institutionalization of community policing:

Section 1 - Title and Philosophy

1.1. This program shall be known as the Community Policing Program of the City of Oakland.

1.2. Community policing is hereby reaffirmed as the public safety policy and philosophy of the City of Oakland.

Section 2 - Police Beats

2.1. Police beats shall be established to as nearly as possible conform to the natural boundaries of neighborhoods and communities in the City of Oakland, taking into account historical neighborhood boundaries, natural boundaries such as streams, artificial boundaries such as major thoroughfares and highways, shopping and commercial districts, and public school attendance areas.

2.2. Each police beat should, to the extent feasible, contain between 5,000 and 7,000 residents.

Section 3 - Neighborhood Councils

3.1. A neighborhood council shall be established in each police beat.

3.2. Neighborhood councils shall strive to include representatives of a variety of organizations sensitive to community needs and interests, such as, but not limited to, community organizations, service groups, Home Alert groups, church organizations, youth groups, labor unions, merchant associations, school parent-teacher organizations, as well as interested members of the community.

3.2.1. Neighborhood councils shall meet regularly, as determined by their members, but at least quarterly.

3.2.2. Meetings of neighborhood councils shall be publicly announced.

3.2.3. All meetings of neighborhood councils shall be public. Whenever feasible, the City’s Neighborhood Services Coordinator, dedicated beat officer, and other city staff assigned to the beat shall be directed to attend meetings of the neighborhood council.

3.2.4. Meetings of neighborhood councils shall be democratically run, but need not conform strictly to Robert’s Rules of Order.

3.2.5. Neighborhood councils shall, following notice to residents of the police beat and an opportunity for interested persons to speak and vote on proposals, determine their form of organization, including whether to elect officers, the titles of such officers, and whether to select and empower a steering committee to act on behalf of the council between regular meetings.

3.2.6. Each neighborhood council shall adopt written rules to govern the conduct of its meetings. These rules shall be available to all residents of the police beat.

3.3. Neighborhood councils shall make every effort to meet with their Neighborhood Services Coordinators, police officers assigned to their beat, and employees of other city departments to identify neighborhood concerns regarding issues of public health and safety, establish priorities for law enforcement efforts, and develop strategies to resolve public health, safety, and other concerns.

3.4. Neighborhood councils shall cooperate actively with police officers and other public employees and interested individuals and organizations to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods, through such activities as involvement in litter and graffiti abatement, community patrols, providing supervision for youth recreation activities, monitoring problems at liquor stores, and other actions.

3.5. Neighborhood councils shall be encouraged to establish a community center in each police beat in order to provide a regular place for their meetings and activities, a location for positive interaction between residents and police officers, and a center for the provision of activities and services to residents of that police beat. To the extent possible public facilities, which can accommodate a large range of activities, such as youth recreation and classes for adults, shall be utilized as community centers. The City Council shall solicit the cooperation of the Oakland Unified School District in making school facilities available for Neighborhood Council meetings without charge to the community.

Section 4 - Neighborhood Services Coordinator

4.1. It shall be a goal of the City to assign a Neighborhood Services Coordinator to each community policing beat.

4.1.1. Neighborhood Services Coordinators shall be non-sworn employees of the police department.

4.1.2. To the extent allowed by law Neighborhood Services Coordinators shall be residents of Oakland.

4.1.3. Neighborhood Services Coordinators shall receive sufficient training and supervision to adequately perform their duties.

4.2. The Neighborhood Services Coordinator shall work under the supervision of the police command structure for that community policing beat.

4.3. The Neighborhood Services Coordinator shall have the following responsibilities:

Section 5 - Police Staffing

5.1. All City of Oakland police officers shall be trained in the philosophy and practice of community policing.

5.1.1. Police officers shall be known as "community police officers."

5.2. It shall be a goal of the City to staff each police beat fully with community police officers.

5.2.1. To the extent possible, and if consistent with applicable agreements with employee organizations, assignments of community police officers to beats and shifts shall be made for terms of no less than two years.

5.2.2. Community police officers assigned to each beat shall work with any assigned Neighborhood Council and Neighborhood Services Coordinator in that beat to carry out the objectives of this program.

5.3. Specialized police units shall be decentralized to the extent possible in order to establish continuity of services and relationships between police department personnel assigned to such units and community residents, community police officers, Neighborhood Councils, and Neighborhood Services Coordinators.

Section 6 - Implementation

6.1. The City Manager or his designated agency head(s) shall be primarily responsible for the implementation of this program.

6.2. The implementation of this program shall require the cooperation of all city departments. The City Manager shall establish an inter-departmental coordinating committee to insure the prioritization of community policing programs and activities by all relevant city departments and employees.

6.3. City staff shall work with other public agencies, the non-profit sector, and the business community to insure the successful implementation of this program.

Section 7 - Community Policing Task Force

7.1. The Mayor and City Council shall establish a nine-member Community Policing Task Force to oversee, monitor, and report at least twice yearly on the implementation of this Resolution and to provide recommendations to the Mayor, Council, City Manager, and Chief of Police on further steps necessary to carry out its objectives.

7.2. The City Manager or his designated representative and Chief of Police shall attend task force meetings and provide the task force with all information it deems necessary to cared out its responsibilities.

7.3.The City Council shall seek to provide the Community Policing Task Force with sufficient funding for its activities, including attendance at conferences, observation of community policing programs elsewhere in the country, and retaining consultants to assist it with its responsibilities.