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Oakland Is Seeking New Applicants For The Police Commission

Oakland City Hall where the Oakland Police Commission holds twice monthly meetings.
Sharon Hahn Darlin
/
Wikimedia Commons
Oakland City Hall where the Oakland Police Commission holds twice monthly meetings.

Oakland’s Police Commission is seeking new applicants. Commissioners help form OPD policy and oversee the response to police misconduct.

Oakland residents who are 18 or older are now eligible to become one of the seven regular and two alternate police commissioners. Information about how to apply can be found here, on the commission's website.

The Oakland Police Commission was created in 2016 and last November voters approved Measure S-1 which gave the commission more independence and power. It’s now allowed it to hire its own legal council and an inspector general who audits the police department and reports directly to them. They now also have more access to officer body camera footage in cases of alleged misconduct.

This isn’t a paying job; all commissioners are volunteers. But if you are selected you’ll have a say in deciding OPD’s policies. Commissioners also oversee the Community Police Review Agency whose job it is to investigate police misconduct and recommend consequences.

The commission meets in public at City Hall on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month. Commissioners should expect to spend 15 to 20 hours a week on their work. If you want to join, you’ll need to apply by June 15th, when a selection panel will start interviewing candidates. Final appointments will be made by October 16th.

Annelise was born and raised in the East Bay and has a background in oral history and urban studies. For the last four and half years, she's worked as a criminal defense investigator at a public defenders office in the Bronx, New York and at an appellate defenders office in the Bay Area. As an investigator, she frequently interviews people involved in different parts of the criminal punishment system. Through her work, she has become passionate about the power of personal narratives and compelling stories to increase cross-cultural understanding and initate change.