Oakland is down to 730 sworn police officers for a population that should have somewhere around 900. Oakland has a police academy to attempt to replenish the ranks because of attrition, but it has not been enough.
Councilmember Dan Kalb is proposing to fund a second police academy to fortify the police’s ranks.
Kalb said he will formally make the propose during the mid-cycle budget revise discussions coming next May to fund the additional academy in hopes of, at least, filling the police department’s current vacancies.
He said residents are asking for additional street patrols to combat a rash of crimes recently, primarily home and vehicle break-ins. The crimes are often never investigated by OPD.
His proposal comes after the issue of the short-staffed police department was highlighted by the recent theft of a laptop computer at a Starbucks in the Montclair District of Oakland that resulted in a homicide.
ebcitizen.com 