Shoshana Walter/The Bay Citizen

Councilmember Jean Quan outside council chambers at Oakland's City Hall

A popular violence prevention initiative that has been credited with bringing down crime in Oakland may become the victim of a city budget crisis that threatens to slash 200 jobs from the Oakland Police Department. 

The initiative, known as Measure Y, receives funding only if the OPD continues to employ at least 739 police officers. The department currently employs 740.

“Even (cutting) one officer means we may not be able to fund Measure Y,” warned Oakland District 4 Councilmember Jean Quan during a Tuesday night City Council meeting that drew hundreds of sobbing parents, pastors, former gang members, counselors, community organizers, government workers and young parolees.

The OPD is in the crosshairs as the city tries to close a $70 million budget gap. Eliminating Measure Y would save about $20 million per year, but the program is valued by both police and community activists because it targets both community policing and grass-roots programs that many people believe prevent violence.

Violence in Oakland has dropped an average of about 12.5 percent over the past two and a half years, a trend that some believe is partially attributable to the effects of Measure Y. 

Shoshana Walter/The Bay Citizen

Parolees Sean Romphruk, 17, and Tommy Hang, 18, stand in the back of council chambers during the meeting

Quan, who helped draft the 2004 legislation for which the initiative is named, proposed a three-fold plan to save Measure Y:

- Ask voters for permission to increase parcel taxes for a period of three years.

- Ask voters for permission to alter Measure Y language to allow programs to continue without a minimum number of officers, a proposal that would preserve the program while still cutting the police department staff.

- Ask Oakland police officers to alter their pension plans and cut salaries.

Unless the council agrees on an alternative, officer layoffs – and thus the elimination of Measure Y – are imminent because the police and fire departments comprise about 75 percent of Oakland's general fund.

The police union begins negotiations with city officials next week. Quan said they are considering asking employees to make contributions to their own pension plans.

Police are upset about the possible cuts.

The first to go would be the most recent hires, mostly patrol officers, said OPD spokeswoman Holly Joshi. Since responding to 911 calls is the department’s first priority, she said many specialized units would have to be dismantled to fill the empty slots.

“It’s going to have a serious impact on crime, obviously,” said Joshi. “We won’t be investigating anything aside from the most heinous crimes like murders and rapes. There will be no follow-up investigations on any of those other violent crimes or robberies and burglaries.”