OPD

Lacking police presence, Oakland residents take control of their streets

Kyung Jin Lee — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:57:38 +0000

A couple of years ago, Sonny Le and his five-year-old son were approaching their front gate in Oakland’s Glenview neighborhood after school when Le saw two men running towards them.

“One was trying to go behind us – the maneuver trying to corral your prey, basically,” he says. “The other one started coming right at me, at us. He put his hoodie on. It was like, OK, these kids gonna rob us.”

How much of "Oakland" is actually in the Oakland Police Department?

Holly Kernan — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:52:28 +0000

Of the 2,000 people who initially applied for the 55 new positions on the Oakland Police force, most were from outside the city. In fact, more than 90% of the current police force does not live in Oakland, something that activists say strains community police relations and affects city resources. Oakland spends about 40% of its general fund on police – that compares with 26% spent on police in San Jose, 17% in Sacramento and 7% in Long Beach.

Can a new crop of Oakland cops help build community trust?

Kyung-Jin Lee — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:31:59 +0000

When the Oakland Police Department put out a call for new recruits earlier this year, more than 2,000 people applied – mostly from outside of Oakland. The applicants live in cities in the outer East Bay and in San Francisco, but they also hail from as far away as Illinois and Florida.