Mission Statement

The Police Commission is established to oversee the Oakland Police Department (OPD) to ensure that its policies, practices, and customs conform to national standards of constitutional policing and reflect the needs of the community. The Police Commission also oversees the Community Police Review Agency (CPRA) and Office of the Inspector General (OIG), both of which are established under the City Charter as separate independent entities. The CPRA provides the community with a forum to report alleged police misconduct and for independent civilian investigations of those complaints. The OIG monitors and audits OPD and the CPRA.

Learn more about who we are and what we do here.

SERVICE IMPACTS &

EQUITY CONSIDERATIONS

Enhancements

Trustworthy and Responsible Government

1. Adds 1.0 FTE Administrative Assistant II and $6,000 in One-Time equipment costs to support the Police Commission with the challenge of increased demand for service and information. It is anticipated that this position would directly assist the Commission’s Chief of Staff with Police Commission meeting preparation and like business.
   • Equity Consideration: The Police Commission oversees the Police Department (including approval of the policies of the Police Department), Community Police Review Agency (CPRA) and – most recently – the Inspector General’s (IG's) office. The activities of the Oakland Police Department (OPD) disproportionately effect Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities, especially Black people, and impact the investigations conducted by the CPRA. Furthermore, responsibility for the newly formed IG’s office also sits under the Police Commission, with potential to critically effect and impact rebuilding public trust between community members and the systems and authorities that make up the public safety space. The work of the Oakland Police Commission to oversee the policies of the Police Department, the investigations of CPRA and the IG’s audits therefore directly addresses a core inequity in existing City performance.
2. Adds 1.0 FTE Administrative Analyst II position and adds $6,000 in O&M in One-Time equipment costs to improve data collection and reporting of data to increase transparency to impacted communities. This is an equity issue because BIPOC communities are disproportionately represented in police misconduct complaints. It also facilitates improving collection and reporting of data about equity and race, e.g., the demographics of complainants. This would help CPRA dive deeper into the race and equity impacts of its own work.
   • Equity Consideration: CPRA investigations exclusively assess the work of OPD police officers. The activities of those officers disproportionately effect BIPOC communities, especially Black people. The work of CPRA therefore directly addresses a core inequity in existing City performance. The proposed new staff member will free up Intake Technicians and Complaint Investigators to better identify police misconduct, and thus serve our equity goal of reducing police misconduct against BIPOC persons.
3. Adds 1.0 FTE Complaint Investigator II position and adds $6,000 in O&M in One-Time equipment costs. Measure S1 went into effect January 2021, which included a new deadline for completion of CPRA cases of 250 days, instead of the prior one-year deadline set by state law. This reduces the time for any given case to be completed by 30%. Our experience in the last year has been that CPRA investigative staffing is not adequate to keep up with this much earlier deadline. In order to meet this deadline consistently, we are proposing one additional permanent Complaint Investigator II position on an ongoing basis. Completion of cases within these deadlines will require additional staffing, hence the proposal to add a Complaint Investigator II position.
   • Equity Consideration: CPRA investigations exclusively assess the work of OPD police officers. The activities of those officers disproportionately effect BIPOC communities, especially Black people. The work of CPRA therefore directly addresses a core inequity in existing City performance. Officer involved shootings, the specific sort of case addressed here, have historically disproportionately affected Black Oaklanders more than any other community, as is also the case nationally.
4. Adds 3.0 FTE an Administrative Analyst II, Police Performance Auditor, and Project Manager III and adds $71,000 in O&M for supplies, equipment, utilities, tuition, and conferences. Measure S1 requires the Oakland Police Commission’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to monitor, audit and evaluate the OPD for compliance in accordance with the National Security Agency (NSA) tasks. The OIG may also review and evaluate CPRA to monitor the integrity of investigations. The OIG also has jurisdiction to inspect, review and evaluate the operational functions of OPD and CPRA to determine if professional best practices are being adhered to and implemented, and operations are in accordance with the City Charter and City Ordinances.
   • Equity Consideration: The OIG has overarching jurisdiction to review use of force complaints, complaints of racial discrimination by sworn police officers, and other complaints per City Charter. The review and evaluations of those complaints and investigations and/or investigative methods will directly or indirectly effect the communities impacted by racial disparities and protected classes according to the federal government. Fully staffing the new OIG office is critical to advancing racial equity outcomes.

SIGNIFICANT BUDGETARY CHANGES

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

POSITION INFORMATION