The Oakland Police Fee is asking for public enter on potential adjustments to the police division’s automobile pursuit coverage at two upcoming boards.
The primary alternative for the general public to weigh in will probably be at a particular assembly of the Police Fee at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Metropolis Corridor.
A neighborhood city corridor may also be held on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to eight:30 p.m. at East Bay Church of Spiritual Science, situated at 4130 Telegraph Ave. Distant entry will probably be out there, however no feedback will probably be taken from distant individuals.
The city corridor will function an “informal discussion” on what the neighborhood desires from a police pursuit coverage, in response to the Fee.
The coverage is written by the police division, however the police fee can present steerage and feedback. The police division is within the technique of drafting a brand new coverage.
The present coverage states that pursuits, “may only be initiated when there is reasonable suspicion to believe the suspect committed a violent forcible crime and/or a crime involving the use of a firearm, or probable cause that the suspect is in possession of a firearm,” in response to the Oakland Police Division.
Examples of a violent forcible crime embrace homicide, kidnapping, carjacking, sexual assault and a number of other different violent crimes, like possession of weapons of mass destruction.
FILE PHOTO: A few of the greater than 1,260 firearms the Oakland Police Division has recovered as of November 3, 2022. (Oakland Police Division by way of Bay Metropolis Information)
In Oakland, there have been 600 police pursuits between 2018 and the tip of November 2023, in response to the newest metropolis knowledge out there. About 1% of chases ended with a collision involving a fatality, whereas 7% concerned an harm and 46% resulted in property harm.
The town’s numbers had barely improved by 2022, however nonetheless greater than a 3rd of all pursuits led to a collision involving property harm, in comparison with about 12% statewide, in response to knowledge from the OPD and CHP.
The commonest causes for initiating a pursuit have been suspected situations of carjacking with a firearm, robberies involving a firearm, knife or chopping instrument, and assault with a firearm on an individual.
Regardless of the coverage’s restrictions, Oakland’s statistics have been worse than the statewide common, in response to knowledge from the California Freeway Patrol, which is required by legislation to gather pursuit knowledge from every legislation enforcement company within the state and make an annual report back to the legislature.
The final report out there by way of the CHP’s web site was from the report in June 2023, masking knowledge from 2022.
That yr, amongst all legislation enforcement businesses statewide, about 0.3% of pursuits resulted in a deadly collision, whereas 6.7% concerned an harm collision and about 12% resulted in property harm alone.
In pursuits involving the CHP, about 0.4% of pursuits resulted in a deadly collision, 5% resulted in an harm collision, and about 9% resulted in a non-injury collision.
The discrepancy got here even though, statewide, pursuits have been most frequently initiated for causes like dashing, stolen automobiles, registration or license plate violations, or different misdemeanor visitors violations, most of which might be precluded underneath the OPD coverage.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaims an extension to the state’s legislation enforcement partnership with Oakland past the end-of-the-year deadline throughout a information convention in Oakland on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. Newsom put a situation on the deal: that town should stop its longstanding coverage of not pursuing suspect automobiles. (Workplace of the Governor by way of Bay Metropolis Information)
“We’re at that point in time that we need to see some commensurate support and reforms and changes as it relates to policing. Here in Oakland, in order to consider extending this state subsidized partnership, we specifically are going to need to see changes in the pursuit policy,” he stated.
In a press launch saying the general public boards, the police fee responded to the critique by saying that it supported the present coverage however would additionally help exploring adjustments.
“Research presented to the commission clearly demonstrated that an increase in high-speed chases would lead to more injuries and fatalities among innocent bystanders in our city,” the fee stated. “Based mostly on this proof, the fee unanimously supported OPD’s present coverage and, in a memo despatched in September 2024, really helpful that the Metropolis Council Public Security Committee take into account potential revisions to the coverage.
