Report: Oakland’s police lack accountability
May 10, 2013, 7:52 PM
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – High-ranking Oakland police officers are not being held properly accountable for the crimes occurring in the areas they oversee, according to a report by former Los Angeles police chief Bill Bratton.
His consulting group on Thursday recommended that the department patrol the city in five districts, each led by a captain who would oversee a group of officers that can respond to crimes more effectively.
Burglaries, in particular, were not being properly investigated, with one part-time investigator assigned to handle 10,000 reported burglaries last year, according to William Andrews, a member of Bratton’s team.
“Burglaries have gone through the roof,” Andrews was quoted saying in Friday’s San Francisco Chronicle (
http://bit.ly/198OUub).
Bratton’s group believes the city would see a reduction in crime within six months.
Acting Police Chief Anthony Toribio said the department already had established two districts in East Oakland prior to the report’s release.
It was issued a week after a court-appointed overseer criticized department leadership, and a day after Police Chief Howard Jordan surprisingly stepped down citing health issues. Toribio also has since stepped down.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan disputed that burglaries were not being investigated but said change was coming.
The city is getting help from the California Highway Patrol, has added civilian employees to help take crime reports and funded police academies to increase the number of officers.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
