Gerry Shih/The Bay Citizen

Oakland police Chief Anthony Batts

Significant challenges are looming at the Oakland Police Department, including a dwindling force of first-responders, continued attrition and the possibility of future layoffs.

Yet before an auditorium of concerned residents at the department’s second COMPSTAT meeting Thursday night, Chief Anthony Batts painted both a sobering and optimistic future of crime in the city.

The meetings of department leaders offer the public an unprecedented look at how police combat crime in the city based on the crime-trends and analysis program Batts launched when he came into office one year ago.

In contrast to the stern demeanor he displayed before the media during recent protests, Batts seemed in his element before the public on Thursday, appearing calm, amiable and swapping jokes with police captains and the crowd as he described a continued emphasis on community policing.

The captains described crime trends and statistics in their jurisdictions, illustrating the migrating hot spots of criminal activity on maps projected on a screen inside the James Moore Theatre at the Oakland Museum of California.

Most of the 200-person audience were Oakland residents involved in Neighborhood Watch and Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils. Batts said building partnerships with community organizations and volunteers will prove pivotal in fighting crime.

The passage of Measure BB earlier this month removed the minimum police staffing requirements imposed by Measure Y, and allows the department to reinstate the city’s problem-solving officers. It also allows the city to resume collecting taxes to fund violence prevention programs

But what Measure BB seems to have ultimately created is another challenge for Batts, who has to cull the new problem-solving officers from an already sparse staff. The city said the measure does not fund more officers.

The problem-solving officers will be back the first week of January. Before then, Batts said he plans to enroll every member of the department in a 40-hour community policing training. Additional specialized units will be collapsed to backfill patrol.

“What I’m struggling with is filling those positions because we know how important they are,” said Assistant Chief Howard Jordan during the meeting. “But also, where do those officers come from to fill those positions?”

Some units had already been collapsed to backfill patrol after layoffs. Now, with 670 officers, Batts said even detectives began working patrol once a week. Once the 75 or so problem-solving officer and staff positions are reinstated, Batts said, all specialized units will be collapsed into patrol.

Before a concerned audience, Batts treated the topic with humor and said he’s viewing the smaller staff as an opportunity to expand officer roles. 

“Everybody loves the PSOs. The PSOs are the Gucci police officers. They get to hang out with the citizens, they have the nice wavy hair, they got the nice uniforms,” he said, to laughter. “I want to have every single officer in this department like the PSOs.”

Batts said that under the community policing model, patrol officers would also get out of their cars, walk the neighborhoods and gather enough intelligence to prevent future crimes, such as retaliatory shootings. But Batts said the department’s ability to be proactive is becoming severely limited. 

“We don’t have time to whine and cry about these things,” he said. “That’s why I’m asking for your help and assistance. And we have to have a laser focus to go after the people are who are actually causing the crimes.”

Noting Jean Quan’s election as mayor and describing Oakland on the “precipice” of transformation, Batts said he and schools Superintendent Tony Smith selected four schools – James Madison Middle School, Westlake, Roosevelt and Frick – for a pilot program involving increased mentorship and policing around school campuses.

Batts said middle school students are most at risk for truancy and involvement in criminal activity and that early intervention and mentorship can alter the course of a child’s adolescence and break cycles of generational crime. The majority of crime in Oakland is committed by and on young people, Batts said.

Batts took one last jab at Mehserle protesters before urging audience members to sign up as volunteers, ending the nearly two-hour meeting with more of a focus on community organizing than policing.

“‘No justice, no peace’ starts right now,” he said. “No rhetoric. No nice little gimmicks. It’s okay to get out there with a picket sign and march. But if you wanna make a difference in this city, get involved. Make a difference in a child’s life. Thank you very much.”