Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Good evening and welcome to the public safety committee meeting of Tuesday, May twelfth, two thousand twenty-six.

The time is now six.

Oh three PM, and this meeting may come to order.

Before taking roll, I will provide instructions on how to submit speaker cards for items on this agenda.

If you're here with us in chamber and would like to submit a speaker card, please fill one out and turn one into myself or a clerk representative no later than ten minutes after the start of this meeting or before the item is read into record.

Registering to speak via Zoom is now due twenty-four hours prior to the start of this meeting.

We'll now proceed with taking roll.

Council Member Brown, who is noticed on the agenda for remote participation.

Council member five present.

Yeah, let's move forward.

Okay, reading in item one, approval of the draft minutes from the committee meetings of March twenty-fourth and april twenty-first, two thousand twenty-six.

There are no public speakers on this item.

Okay.

I'll move approval.

Do I got a second?

All right.

Thank you.

That's a motion made by Council Member Pipe, seconded by Council Member Houston to accept the draft minutes from the committee committee meetings of March twenty fourth and April twenty-first, 2026.

On roll council members Brown.

Aye.

Five.

Aye.

Easton?

And Chair Wong.

Aye.

Thank you.

Item number one passes with four eyes to accept the draft minutes.

Item two, determination of schedule of outstanding committee items, and there are two speakers that signed up to speak.

We'll go to public comment.

Calling in the names that sign up to speak on item number two.

Asada Olabala and Rajni Mandal.

I'm concerned about anything that has to do with how we're doing intervention with our youth related to public safety.

Having said that, we do have a uh violence prevention interrupter program that goes into the schools to deal with uh challenges around violence.

We need to have a report on that and how it's working.

We also have uh our police officers and the stop data that they're required to do.

They are required to implement truancy stops, and we haven't got any kind of report on that element of our children being out of school when they're supposed to be in school.

I also am concerned about the last uh allowing of $250,000 for faith in action to do outreach to the ceasefire community, or what can be said it can be considered gangs or individuals.

I'm not sure how y'all doing it now, but I do not see how that qualification was met.

You have to have a skill set to do outreach to individuals who are engaged in criminal activity.

Now anybody can't pick up the phone and say come to a meeting.

You have to have a strategy on how to do that, and I don't know if faith in action has that strategy in place.

I'm also uh challenged by the responsibility of officers to make a decision on citation or warning, and if that may have an element of racial profiling, the data does it exist when you make a stop, the citation, the warning that was given by race.

Lastly, uh on public uh communication, identification.

Sometimes you identify Rajni Mandel District 4.

This is for the NSA item future agenda item.

Uh, there's a growing narrative that reforming Oakland's civilian oversight structure could somehow threaten compliance with the NSA, federal oversight.

But the commission, the police commission's own CMC statement actually highlights why we need to clearly separate civilian oversight from federal compliance administration.

The police commission is not a named party in the NSA.

The federal monitor does not oversee the commission and monitor reports do not evaluate commission performance.

In fact, the monitor explicitly does not evaluate CIPAR investigations for NSA compliance because CIPRA timelines do not meet NSA deadlines.

The court's focus has consistently been on OPD leadership, internal affairs, the city administrator, the constitutional policing administrator, the city attorney, and the mayor.

Judge Oric has repeatedly praised city leadership and OPD progress towards compliance.

Yet the commission's current CMC statement repeatedly attempts to position the commission as central to NSA compliance and post-NSA transition planning.

The statement describes the commission as uniquely positioned to quote drive the kind of results that can hasten an NSA exit and discusses transitioning internal affairs functions to CIPRA and having the commission take over broader compliance-related responsibilities.

This blurs the line between oversight and administration.

The statement also discusses lobbying for changes to the police union, MOU, participating directly in federal court processes, and positioning the commission as a long-term compliance structure, even though those responsibilities right now belong to city leadership and OPD administration under the NSA.

Civilian oversight is crucial.

It is important, but oversight works best when roles are clear.

The commission should provide independent oversight and public accountability, not attempt to become a co-manager of federal compliance or OPD administration.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Chair that concludes all speakers on this item.

All right, thank you.

Uh ACA Phillips, anything from the administration?

No, Chair.

Nothing from the administration.

Thank you.

Okay, great.

We'll entertain a motion.

Okay.

Thank you.

I'll second.

Thank you.

That was a motion made by Council Member Houston, seconded by Council Member Five to accept the determination of schedule about standing committee items as is.

On roll council members Brown.

Aye.

Five.

Aye.

Houston.

Aye.

And Chair Wong.

Aye.

Thank you.

Item two passes with four eyes to accept the determination of schedule about standing committee items as is.

Reading in item three, adopt a resolution awarding a grant agreement to community initiatives for the term of July 1st, 2026 to June 30th, 2027 for community activation services related to Oakland ceasefire lifeline strategy in an amount not to exceed 100,000.

And we have two speakers that signed up to speak.

Okay, great.

We do have a pretty packed agenda today.

So uh DVP, I'll turn it over to you.

And if we can keep it to about three minutes, that would be great.

Sounds good.

Thank you, Chair Wong.

Jenny Lynchy, Deputy Chief with the Department of Violence Prevention.

I'm joined tonight by Sean Upshaw, our violence interruption supervisor.

And I will wait for my slides.

Great.

Okay, so we are seeking approval of a resolution that would award a grant of $100,000 to community initiatives as the fiscal sponsor for town nights to support community activations as part of the ceasefire lifeline strategy from July 1st, 2026 to June 30th, 2027, so a one year period.

As a reminder of the DVP's role in the ceasefire lifeline strategy, we implement the lifeline portion, which focuses resources on approximately the entire strategy focuses resources on approximately 350 individuals at highest risk of drawing or driving gun violence.

Our portion of the strategy, the lifeline portion, involves two primary components.

The first is violence interrupters using their lived experience and trusted relationships to mediate conflicts and prevent retaliation, and then life coaches who work intensively with individuals to support them in shifting mindsets, behaviors, and contexts that reduce their risk for violence and increase their protective factors.

So to talk about what we're hoping to do, the community activations, we are hoping to strategically deploy our violence interrupters to neighborhoods that are experiencing either acute incidents of gun violence or high-risk group related conflicts.

So when there are shootings that are group related that have high risk of retaliation, or when there are simply high conflicts between groups happening in a specific neighborhood, our intention is to physically deploy violence interrupters to have a physical presence in those neighborhoods for several days and engage community members through food giveaways, healing events, family-friendly activities, and connections to services.

So you can think about this in the same way that when violence increases in a specific neighborhood, OPD might increase patrols in that neighborhood, we would be deploying our violence interrupters to have a physical presence.

And this work replicates promising practices that are happening already in Baltimore and Indianapolis currently, as well as prior work that has happened in Oakland in prior years.

The goals of these deployments are to allow our violence interrupters to develop relationships with community members who can support future mediation or interruption efforts, educate residents about the existence and role of violence interrupters, reduce the likelihood of retaliatory violence due to an increased presence in public spaces, so simply by more violence interrupters being physically present in community, hopefully retaliatory violence is less likely.

Increasing trust and visibility of city government.

So our violence interrupters would be wearing apparel that say clearly DVP and City of Oakland on them, so that community members would recognize who they are and hopefully engage with them.

And then connect highly impacted individuals to an array of services and supports.

So some of the things that violence interrupters might do in community would be food giveaways, connecting them to services either funded by the DVP or other city departments.

So as a reminder about town nights, this is a program that the DVP used to fund as part of our community healing work.

It's a community-driven initiative that brings Oakland residents and organizations together, primarily in public parks and spaces through food, music, and recreation to build belonging and heal communities.

We coordinated and funded this initiative from 2022 through 2024 as part of our community healing work.

And then since 2025, Town Nights has spun off, it's being fiscally sponsored by community initiatives, but is continuing to host events in community throughout Oakland.

An important distinction to note is that when the DVP funded Town Nights and as Town Knights operates as on its own right now, it's they are proactive events in community.

What we're hoping to partner with town nights to do is support these very reactive um deployments into community after violence has occurred, or um given a high threat of violence.

So town nights would support DVP-led activations by bringing food entertainment marketing materials and other resources to neighborhoods during these activation periods.

So they are very well-versed and a bit able to be agile and move quickly in terms of getting food trucks, getting bounce houses, getting other things that might support these activations.

Um DVP and Town Nights together would coordinate with faith faith-based leaders, neighborhood crime prevention council chairs, nonprofit leaders, and other members of the community business owners on activation locations and activities.

So these would be very customized to the specific neighborhood or block where they are happening.

Okay, we are happy to take questions.

Seeing none, let's first go to public comment.

Calling in the names that signed up to speak on item number three, Mississauga Olavala and Blair Beekman.

So what is a healing event?

Um how does that work?

Um, connection to services has always been uh element of ceasefire that I've never fully understood.

So, what services are you able to connect to?

Now, if you're talking about connecting to services, you identify a service and you let them know it exists, that's not enough.

How are you able to guarantee that a service can be uh provided for an individual that needs it?

Then you have uh support, community support for the future.

I'm not might be saying this wrong.

Mediation or interpretation efforts, I don't know what that means, reduce uh retaliatory violence.

How do you reduce retaliatory violence?

I think for me, uh I enjoy the capacity of life coaches, but life coaches speak to and deal with through conversation how to help people do deal whatever they're dealing with.

It's a verbal exchange that goes on.

That's it.

So how does that work when you're trying to reduce retaliatory?

You convince people through discussion.

It's hard to do.

Town night.

You say you have healing communities, you building uh belonging.

I don't know how you build belonging, and then you uh want neighborhoods to have crime prevention console chairs.

How many of our neighborhoods have crime prevention console chairs?

Who are we talking about?

Because that doesn't exist across the board for everybody.

Now, I I don't like when we talk about thank you for your comments, Ms.

Olavala.

Switching to Zoom user Blair, you can unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hi, uh Blair Beekman.

Uh thank you a lot for this item.

I want to better understand ceasefire.

I'm not so fully clear on it, like a lot of things.

So I'm just starting to really get into learning about what ceasefire is and all the good uh violence prevention programs we can be working on in Oakland.

Thanks a lot for uh Asara Olapala's uh questions.

Um I thought they were really good.

I it's kind of the way I I'd I'd like to ask questions too of these items at this time.

Perhaps not so uh deeply concerned that um out of my own lack of course, but uh just uh it would the general tone, the general uh questions uh just thank you for um the idea of something as like a block parent is coming around and it is community policing ideas that was brought to your board uh a few months ago when I was in Oakland back in March or so and it was uh met with kind of a lukewarm so and uh it's got good people working on it, but uh they don't know if they want to go through with it.

Is that what this ceasefire item is about local council uh leaders something like that uh that was spoken about?

Um so um I like the block parent and I like neighborhood uh groups working together and and talking and working up ideas on how to address uh, you know, if there's concerns in a neighborhood, you can go to those neighborhoods.

You can go to those people in those neighborhoods.

And and an overall process of working things and coordinating things, working things out as local neighborhoods.

I think that's it's real potential, and I don't know if that's the ceasefire program, it's another program.

Working with together with these two programs, uh good luck with the sort of thank you for your comments.

Chair, that concludes all speakers on item three.

Okay, Councilmember Brown, go ahead.

Excellent.

Um, thank you so much, Chair.

Um and so always grateful to the work of the DVP, thanks for providing more clarity as to kind of the intent of kind of being these the program of town nights in this capacity being more reactive to what is happening currently.

Um I did have a question about you know, given the funding allocation, in your estimate, you know, how many events do you think or you know how many activations are we predicting you would be able to um have with this dollar amount, through the chair, that's a great question.

We'll have to see as we get started really what is required, but off the top of my head I would estimate 1,500 to $2,000 per event.

Um so maybe 20 or so 20 20 to 30 events over the course of the year.

Amazing.

That's pretty good.

All right, thank you so much.

Oh, I'll make a motion to move this to the um full council.

Okay, great.

Uh council member five.

Thank you through the chair, um thank you for this presentation.

I I do have a question for uh whether or not you have organizations identified for certain areas of the city that you plan on partnering with, and I would be interested in knowing if it's possible to partner with some groups around the uptown downtown area during first Fridays or at post-First Fridays.

Um, well, then again, I think some of your events end a lot earlier, but I just wonder if that might be possible to offset some of the violence that we're seeing happening in the area.

Through the chair to Councilmember Five, thank you for the question.

We would definitely be interested in partnering with the agencies that we already fund that are in community that work with our population, of course.

Um what I would say about the downtown area is that since these um activations are are purely reactive to shootings and high-risk conflicts, if there was an event that there was a shooting or a high-risk conflict in the downtown area, we we would consider um hosting or doing an activation in that area.

But most commonly, unfortunately, we see these happening in West Oakland and um deeper East Oakland, and I think um we are our violence interrupters are really focused on group violence conflicts.

So again, if if the criteria fit and there was something in the downtown neighborhood where there were group violence-related shootings or conflicts, that could be a match.

I just talked to the um general manager of the Oakland Ice Center this week, and he said through one of the conflicts that occurred in the area, there were 37 bullet holes in the Oakland Ice Center.

Um, many of which were where they have the new Elisa Lou Miro painting.

And so I can't say whether or not that was group or gang related, um, but I'm I'm hearing similar messages from different business owners and organizational owners in the area.

So if there could be some identification on where this is coming from, because I haven't heard that it is group or gang related, but I haven't heard that it's not, right?

I would like there to be some consideration to um that area of the city um with organizations that are in the near proximity if possible.

Of course.

Thank you.

I'm happy to follow up on that and share that with our our team that would be determining when and where to activate.

Thank you.

Councilmember Houston.

You'll say, uh, I first see Councilmember Houston, and then I have one question of my own, and then we'll move to the vote.

Yeah, it was I was in deep thought, um, and through the chair, um, Mr.

Umshaw and Miss Leachy.

Um I'll be talking more about this and in on item seven, but I'm I'm I'm like really, really disturbed.

I DVP is doing a good job.

I appreciate everything they do.

I do.

I appreciate everything that um the OPD is doing.

I really do.

And I don't blame either one.

We're trying to solve these problems, right?

I blame the um the waiving of our local contracts, I blame um the participation of our local businesses that hire our youngsters.

Let me tell you why.

My friends are dying on these streets.

I know these people, these are my neighbors.

I live off the one way, right?

And it's not that they want to kill each other, they're cutting the underground economy, right?

And it comes to money.

I mean, I appreciate I do.

I'm not when I say this, it's it's it's it's a respected the food giveaways and things like that, but we're dying, we starving, right?

District 7 in October to twelve 2025 to March 2026, I had six single homicides, one double and one triple.

Homicides, these bodies, these is people's lives, right?

And they're dying over the um a money.

So, like I said, I don't uh you guys are doing your best, and I really appreciate it.

I appreciate the police doing what they're doing, you know, trying to bring down the crime and they have.

But what it takes for my folks is money and opportunity.

You know, when you look at this district seven, I'm gonna say another statistic here, same time crime stats.

Um, when you look across the board in district seven, you got six and one, zero and two, three homicides and three, four and uh four, five, they got three, and I got ten in my district.

You got ten people dying, and and it's like I know these people.

I've bumped them, I've talked to them, and they just cut in that circle, right?

So I'm gonna say this in closing, I'm gonna yield the floor.

I uh I blame the waiving of our local contracts.

I blame us not being able to hold on to our local businesses that hire our local people.

Because if you have somebody local that has a business, they're gonna hire the people that they can relate to like me when I was out there.

When I worked contractor, I hired the people that I could relate to that look like me, right, to give the opportunity that I didn't have, right?

So I appreciate everything the DP D DVP is doing.

I appreciate what Oakland Police Department is doing.

I work good with both of you, but I'm gonna say it in closing.

I believe I blame the people that are waiving these contracts that embrace my local businesses' generational wealth, and I blame them when they are going outside of Oakland to other cities, to other states that are not giving my people an opportunity.

That's why we're dying.

We're not dying because we want to kill each other.

We're forced into the underground economy.

I've been there.

I know what it's like.

I'm gonna do what I gotta do to feed my baby, right?

I am, I am, and I know they will, and I'm not I don't even compare to some of these guys, nothing compared to them.

They're gonna do what they have to do to survive, but we have to give them the opportunity, we have to give them an opportunity, and it hurts me just to sit here to see that I look at these these crime stats.

It's district seven.

We've been under served for years, and I'm hoping that we can do one of these um these these events at Elmhurst Park that um I'm just revamping.

Uh Michelle Phillips helped me out with that.

We're bringing it back so our kids can play.

The first day that we fixed the got rid of some of the the riff raff in the park that was just unnecessary, and I'm gonna say it was real riff raff.

Um, they had kids playing there at the park, right?

So I'm I can go on and on, but it just hurts me to sit in this seat, and I know uh I'm on the other side now, and I could talk to my people and I see what's happening, and I see what could have been done for my people.

I see it.

I'm in closed session, I see what could have happened, and I was lied to before.

I see we could have stopped these, I see we could have gave my community, and I'm gonna say this in closing.

My people gonna do what they gotta do to survive, right?

Let's give them the opportunity.

That's all I'm asking, and I beg.

Thank you.

Sounds like town night should have some job opportunities at these events.

Um I did, so I think this is both a promising model, and I think I also have a little skepticism to be honest.

Just given uh I know it wasn't first Fridays, but it was the aftermath of that um activation, and I've seen it myself where uh there was a fight that broke out at um at San Antonio Park at Town Nights, and um I've seen it at some of our street fairs and everything.

How can we assure that these activations um aren't going to actually be the cause of violence, or is there a intentionality behind the events that will prevent that?

So one thing I would say through the chair, um, is again a distinction between these won't be large community events like a town nights like a first Fridays.

These will be violence interrupters walking the streets, going, you know, standing on a corner, handing out bags of groceries, um, having a food truck, connect having conversations with community members who are walking by.

Um they won't, again, they won't be even really medium-sized events.

These will just be an opportunity for violence interrupters to be physically in community and to be sharing something with the community.

So having something to give, having something to initiate conversation with people.

Um, and then our violence interrupters, of course, that it is their job to diffuse conflict and to mediate conflicts, and so they are very skilled in what they do and would you know bring those skills to any interactions that are taking place.

Great.

That sounds that that was helpful.

It was very concrete what you just provided.

Um, let's move to the vote.

Thank you.

We have a motion made by Councilmember Brown, seconded by Council Member Fife to approve the recommendations of staff and support this item to the May 19th, City Council agenda.

On roll council members Brown, I five.

I Houston, and Chair Wong.

I thank you.

Item number three passes with four.

I support this item to the May 19th, 2026, City Council agenda on consent.

Reading in item four, adopt a resolution authorizing the city administrator to enter into a purchase agreement with Bauer Compressors Inc.

for the purchase, service, and or repair of self-contained breathing apparatus uh units and uh complete repairs to turn out gear clean cleaning extractors for a three-year period and an amount not to exceed six hundred thousand dollars with two one-year options to extend the agreement for up to an additional two years, sorry, and an amount not to exceed two hundred thousand dollars per year without returning to council for a total contract amount not to exceed one million dollars over the possible five-year term and waiving the advertising and competitive bidding requirements, and we have one speaker that signed up for this item.

Okay, great.

Uh I see we're already at 635, and we have a couple more items, so do try to keep it below three minutes.

Okay.

Yes, ma'am.

Um good evening, madam chair and committee.

Damon Simmons, Deputy Chief Open Fire Department.

As stated, fire department seeking approval to enter into a uh contract with borrower compressors not to exceed five years, not to exceed one million dollars for specialized equipment and services servicing.

What that specialized equipment and servicing entails is our firefighters whenever they enter an environment that's oxygen deficient, such as a fire or hazmat incident, they need to wear protective gear, and one of those items that they wear is self-contained breathing apparatus.

Bauer long-term vendor, who is located in Alameda County.

They furnish SCBA units, and they also do annual servicing on our filling stations.

These are filling stations, they're technically referred to as cascade systems.

They allow us to replenish the SCBA bottles at a particular fire station as well as our services and training division.

Second, Bower Compressor is responsible for servicing our extractors.

The extractors are specialized washing systems that are used to clean our gear, and our gear cannot be completed or I should say clean in regular or non-commercial washer and dryer units.

And then last, they're responsible for the annual servicing.

That's a OSHA mandate as well as a recommendation from the National Fire Protection Association to minimize occupational cancer on the part of firefighters, which we all know is prevalent in the fire service throughout the United States, and with that I yield for questions.

Councilmember Houston.

Through the chair, I like to just say it was nice seeing you yesterday when our kids was our family was getting um awards, real nice awards.

So thank you.

Um I want to move this.

Thank you, sir.

All right, second.

There we go.

Uh, we have one public comment, so let's go to that.

Calling in the name that signed up to speak on item number four, Miss Asada Olawala.

I won't believe this, but I read the report.

Just have one concern with the language.

It says based on the long-standing relationship between the vendor and the department staff, we recommend consul waive the multi-step proposal solicitation process.

Now, you know what they're saying?

Because you've been having this relationship.

I've been in a relationship with a man for 10 years.

It wasn't good, but just because it was long don't mean it's good.

You understand what I'm saying?

So the wording should have been we have had a relationship successfully with this company, meeting our needs, something like that.

But when you just say you enter that that just stuck off in my head, baby.

No, you can't say nothing.

You can't say nothing.

They don't allow it.

I would love to hear what you have to say.

And I'm just I'm just being funny.

Okay, I respect your department.

I know you're working hard, but words mean something, and long relationships don't mean nothing if they're not good relationships, okay.

And then the last thing is uh I just have a problem with the three-year agreement and option.

Is that to extend without coming to council?

It's correct.

Okay.

I would love to hear about how healthy or toxic you think this relationship is.

I will keep it short.

I will say it's a very healthy relationship.

They're very responsive to our needs, and like I say, they're located here in Alameda County.

So anytime we are requesting servicing of our uh our air ban and/or we have SCBA repair needs, they're very um responsive.

So, yes, very healthy relationship.

Great job answering that question, seriously.

Councilmember Fife.

I think it's important to have healthy relationships with our service organizations inside of the city, our departments.

I think it's also healthy to have non-toxic relationships with other groups as well.

Um and so when I evaluate these contracts when they are there is a no-bid process and there's been an ongoing relationship.

Also has good relationships, you know, across the board.

And I do realize that Bauer has market share with the services that they provide.

And um I have not heard anything negative necessary.

Wait, did we talk about this?

I can't talk about some of the other negative relationships that we have that we've discussed in close session, but um I do I do support this moving forward as well.

I just wanted to let the public know that sometimes I'm extra critical on who we give these contracts to when there's no bid.

Um, but if if they're not harming other people, other groups, um, and they don't have a monopoly, that is that is also harmful, then it's a thumbs up for me.

And madam chair, there's a quick follow-up to that.

Chief Covington has tasked me with reaching out to businesses here in the city of Oakland, and one of those businesses is um You Save, which is located on 96 and um Foothill.

So we will be reaching out to them for some of our non-specialized equipment.

Um that is a directive that the um buyer chief's office has um asked me to um ensure that we do.

That's great.

I will say that I've made a habit these days, lessons learned of just searching some of these companies plus controversy just to see what the internet brings up, and I don't see anything for this one, so that's good.

Yes.

Thank you.

We have a motion made by Council Member Houston, second by councilmember Brown to approve the recommendations of staff and to forward this item to the May 19th.

City Council agenda on roll council members Brown.

Aye.

Five?

I still and Chair Wong.

Aye.

Thank you.

Item number four passes with four eyes to forward this item to the May 19th City Council agenda on consent.

Reading in item five, adopt a resolution authorizing the city administrator to enter into an agreement with Ellen Curtis and Sons for the purchase of fire party equipment for a three-year term in an amount not to exceed 1,500,000 with an option to extend the agreement up to two years in an amount not to exceed $500,000 per year without returning to council for a total contract amount not to exceed two million five hundred thousand dollars over the possible five-year term and waiving the advertising and competitive bidding process requirements, and we have one speaker that signed up to speak.

Okay, back to you again.

And I'm sorry, actually, what is your name?

Can you um Deputy Chief Damon Simmons?

Okay, that's right.

Thank you.

Please go ahead and up to three minutes again.

Yes.

Oakland Fire Department is seeking approval to enter into a five-year agreement with Ellen Curtis, not to exceed 2.5 million dollars to purchase both specialized and non-specialized equipment, equipment that's used by firefighters for wildland firefighting, structural firefighting, as well as for fire operations at Oakland, um, Oakland International Airport.

Ellen Curtis, a former long-time vendor that was located here in the city of Oakland, specifically out in West Oakland, still has since moved up roughly five years ago, but still located in Alameda County.

We've had a long-term relationship, a healthy relationship with Ellen Curtis, and they have provided once again wildland personal protective equipment gear that's used by firefighters when we are fighting fires in wildland environments, such as up uh such as the case that took place a couple years ago up in um the Keller area, as well as equipment tools and supplies that are used for structural firefighting, such as fire hose, fire nozzles, and as I mentioned previously, foam that we use for fires, specialized fires such as um aviation fires at Oakland International Airport, and with that I yield to questions.

We'll go to public comment, Mrs.

Olavala.

So uh I was a little concerned because you in the report you identified the Oakland fire risk areas, and that was uh Montclair, Claire, Claremont, Piedmont Pines, Leona Heights, Shabo Parks, and Chessmont, I think.

But I didn't hear Oakland Hills.

I live off of Legion Fields Keller, so I'm not in the high wrist area.

You can't answer me, but that's that was my concern.

I thought I was in the high.

So is this is this the real area or is Oakland Hills included?

That was one concern.

And then the other thing I'm concerned about, wave of multiple step proposal solicitation, and boy, this is becoming an everyday thing.

We uh when's the last time we put something out to bid?

Uh anybody remember?

Because what we're doing now, and this one says without returning to council, an extend of uh another two years, and I'm sure this is gonna uh work okay, but the other thing I'm concerned of the source of funding is the general fund.

So has this been already budgeted or did because we identified in the budget in the general fund everything we spended for?

So is this a budgeted item that you approved last June?

Hello, anybody here?

You want to address it, or you don't have to address it.

Why, uh, you want to take that OFD or uh Simmons Desmond?

So those funds are part of the two-year general fund or the budget for the um open fire department.

And to answer um your original question, yes, encompasses all of Oakland, not just those areas that are identified in the report.

So I do apologize.

Um, you know, we should have been a little bit more succinct and just simply said all of Oakland.

And once again, as it relates to businesses here in the city of Oakland, both the fire chief and the city administrator have asked me and we modified the agenda report.

So as of right now, we're focusing only on wildland equipment for purchase to LN Curtis, and then as of right now, I'm strategizing with the fire chief's office to identify local vendors for non-specialized tools and equipment.

So once again, as I mentioned in the last discussion, you save, which is a small independent operations out in East Oakland, as well as Marcus, although it's a franchise part of ACE, it is located here in the city of Oakland.

So fire department, we're gonna go back and make sure that we identify all businesses here in the city of Oakland that can provide us with non-specialized equipment and tools.

But I must be honest and frank with you and say some of the many of the items that we purchase fall under the category of specialized, and therefore we have to go to vendors that are nationally recognized in terms of providing us with the requisite items so that we can operate under the all-hazard mitigation perspective.

Yeah, that makes sense and seems wise.

Uh Councilmember Houston.

Yes, through the chair.

Um Curtis and Sons, I remember they were in West Oakland.

They were there for a while.

I used to buy um pieces and items from them because they were specialized.

And they moved.

I'm wondering why they moved.

Was it because uh what?

Do we know why they moved?

And it's not their fault if they moved if it was because of the conditions down there, because it was pretty rough down there at that time.

Um, when I first was elected, it was two issues that I had.

One was small local businesses and waiving of the contracts that I just spoke about.

And another one was that it kind of like like um perked my ears or whatever was not returning to council.

I'm like, isn't that our job?

I mean, return to council.

So I would I'm I'm gonna go with this, um, but I would want I want everything to start coming back to council.

I want at least six months, three months, or whatever.

Come and just come and talk to us.

Let us know what you just mentioned.

You just said you're gonna look out for businesses that are local for non-specific or non um non-specialized tools and equipment.

Yes, so I like it to come back um to council and let us know where they are with that.

So anything from now on that says not return to council.

I'm gonna vote no on it.

No, I'm not.

I'm gonna say return to council.

Duly noted, sir.

Thank you, thank you.

Sorry, Councilmember Five, go ahead.

Thank you thank you, Chair.

I I do have to say that it might not sound like a lot of money, but a million dollars broken up into smaller contracts for small businesses that are based in Oakland can mean so much to our local economy.

So for this non-specialized equipment, I would definitely like to hear information about how all of our departments, including our public safety departments and our um, you know, uh public works departments are trying to work with Oakland businesses because it could even attract businesses who want to come to Oakland if they know that they'll be able to get certain contracts.

So I think it's critical for us to uh do exactly what the council member is is stating, like figure out how we can work with local businesses to keep them, you know, actively uh employing Oakland residents and paying into the Oakland business tax.

We we need that, correct?

Correct, just madam chair.

If I can address that, go ahead.

So I have a monthly standing meeting where Laura and Richard Battersby, and our last meeting, that was one of the items that I asked OP, excuse me, OPW, do they have a rough dollar amount of how much they spend each year on non-specialized tools and equipment?

So we're working on a plan that's in conjunction or will satisfy some of the recommendations that came out of the 2024 um disparity study to once again ensure that we have identified small and large businesses that are here in the city of Oakland and have some discussions with them, let them know what's coming down in terms of um OFD needs both in the short term as well as in the long long term, so that we can start back up to spending taxpayers' dollars with those businesses in here in the city of Oakland.

I would love to get an update on that information once once you have it.

I'm not sure if this committee would benefit from that information, but um I think that's the right direction.

That's the direction we need to be moving in.

Thank you.

If there hasn't been a motion, I'll make a motion.

Okay, great.

Yes, and I I did want to add just we had a conversation in our internal discussion that there are not really any immediate vendor in the immediate vicinity for this type of equipment, and it was gonna add transportation costs.

I recall that.

So I think for this particular specialized equipment, it for me it makes sense to move forward.

So I'll second this.

Yep, yep, and that's why I'll second this.

Thank you.

We have a motion made by council member five, second by Chair Wong to approve the recommendations of staff and support this item to the May 19th, City Council agenda.

On roll council members Brown, I Houston, I and Chair Wong, I thank you.

Item number five passes with four.

I support this item to the May 19th, City Council agenda on consent.

Reading in item six, adopt a resolution authorizing the city administrator to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the University of Southern California, Susan Dwarak Peck, School of Social Work to create internship opportunities for graduate level social work students from August 2026 to May 30 2031.

And we have three speakers that signed up to speak on this item.

Um and uh, you uh, so I'm actually going to co-present this item.

I'll take it first.

Yes, ma'am.

If we can put it up on K-top.

Okay, all right.

Um, so uh this is an item that I'm excited to bring forward, even though I did not add myself as a co-sponsor to this yet.

I will be doing this.

Um, this was um something that I've been uh working with OPD for a number of months on.

Um just what I see, and we'll move uh through this, but essentially, there's our there are new models happening in uh policing departments called police social work, and this is what the intent of this partnership is to bring uh OPD into that model.

So uh very quickly, the need uh, and I will say that this is not uh an OPD-specific uh data point, but rather a national data point, but that 80% of police calls involve social service-related issues that require specialized training uh to be resolved.

Um there's a need for holistic response.

This has been uh brought up uh by a number of uh individuals here in the city of Oakland uh many times.

You know, we have individuals that are experiencing homelessness, there's survivors of gun violence, we have domestic violence and human trafficking, uh, two issues uh close to my heart.

We have at-risk youth, and we have those experiencing substance use problems and mental health crises.

Um at the same time, we have limited capacity to uh provide resource navigation.

So you have officers that respond uh to a 911 call, but uh the follow-ups that are needed afterwards are are limited, just given the the constraints, the realities of the constraints that we have.

Uh the School of USC has a school of social work and they have a public safety and social work program.

Uh, it's something that they established uh more than a decade ago.

Uh and you might ask why the School of USC.

They are the only uh school that I could see in the near vicinity when I emailed a number of schools that responded, so that's part of it.

Uh, but also um their program is actually mostly online.

So they have a number of students that actually uh uh study remotely from the Bay Area, uh getting their master's of social work uh degrees, and this essentially is a practicum placement into uh metropolitan police departments.

Uh we've also discussed a number of times here at the public safety committee the challenges around recruiting police officers.

Now, not everybody who is a social work student that gets placed in a police department winds up becoming a police officer, but some eventually do because they find the work compelling.

Um, and so what is essentially being proposed is a five-year memorandum of understanding with this program, and uh these would be graduate-level social work in uh interns.

They'd be embedded into OPD for five years.

Uh, each of those interns would be committed to doing 16 to 24 hours of work it each week.

Uh the types of services that these uh interns would be providing include uh crisis response, so uh intervention, uh mental health first aid, emergency response support.

Uh they can also do resource navigation.

These include service referrals, in-home assessments, uh community outreach, um, and then another thing that I know is is a much needed thing uh much needed um skill set right now in uh OPD is just grant support and administration so they can actually do grant development and writing, uh data analysis as well as program planning and evaluation.

And all right, I'll turn it over to you now.

Council member Wong.

Um, OB side uh currently we're planning uh about 16 hours uh per week the first um first year and then up to 24 hours.

Um initially uh we've already run the MOU through the city attorney's office for approval and review, and that has been completed initially uh utilization of this program will be adopted by the special victim section as um our victim a lot of our domestic violence as well their youth victims are there and we find that um section in most need and will work what best with this uh pilot program uh additionally um if the mo you is approved opd will work with uh program design with usc and identified a lead practicum instructor for this uh event uh this program as well uh here's kind of the roadmap timeline for this um it has the review right now in may uh authorization hopefully in june and then launch up the first rotation in August and I believe Councilmember Wong covered everything else thank you so much all right uh let's first go to public comment calling in the names that signed up to speak on item number six Mrs.

Olabala David Boatwright and Blair Beekman first have we ever done this before or is this something for the first time and if it is this is an experiment second 2031 that's a long period of time if this is a first time event now this is an opportunity for classroom learning to become actual hands-on experience practicum and so they're gonna go through a process that they have never probably done before with crisis intervention emergency response support or some of the things in-home assessment whole lot of stuff here but here's the questions are these individual individuals culturally competent to deal with the diversity of this city how will placement of the interns be determined based on what skill set how will specific responsibilities be determined because there's a whole lot of areas you're determining how will the who determines that the professors the department who how will the sharing of personal data be determined what uh it what if any personal data will be given to these people and how does that work will background checks be done on these individuals what is the benefit of the Oakland police department with this MOU how do you benefit from this students will receive course credit but what do we receive at any point who is the overseer of these students because when I did a practice somebody had to be available who is uh over me I don't just throw myself out there I did practicum as a teacher I wasn't in the classroom by myself someone had to be over me to make sure I was doing things so you just throw in these people out here independent with no oversight because they are in a learning experience they are learning.

Thank you for your comments Miss Olabala.

Yesterday afternoon I was getting kind of desperate it was late in the day and and uh I was really struggling and I was almost turning toward the dark side as you referred to earlier and uh I picked up the public safety uh agenda and was reviewing it and uh came across it the perfect scrabble word and the best way to learn a new word is to use it in the Senate.

So I'm gonna ask the question do we already have practicum instructors on the police department or are we gonna have to hire these people that's a joke.

Thank you for your comments.

Switching over to Zoom user, Blair Beekman.

You can unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hi, uh Blair Beekman.

Yeah, I thought this was kind of an interesting item.

It reminded myself.

Believe it or not, I can remember um when Jean Kwan was mayor and she I think it was uh at her time that she hired uh she started hiring uh the Stanford researchers to to help with uh you know statistical data and and best practices in community policing and and um you know working on violence prevention and and the good stuff, but it was really question if Stanford University um does some pretty good work for these Carlo Also issues.

Um if they were gonna ready to work with Oakland.

And I I I how is that going overall after 10 15 years now?

I guess they've been doing pretty good.

And um, so good luck in what you can be doing with USC.

It's a bit a different set of uh ideas and how to work.

So excuse me, I'm in a loud place right now.

Um it's in um it's a bit a different uh set of ways to work.

This is real hands-on stuff, and um, so good luck what this can be doing.

Uh some better explanations can be helped, some good beginning explanations have been offered.

So thank you for that.

So good luck.

Um, yeah, uh I thought Olafala offered some interesting choices what uh how to be considering this.

What to be considering?

Uh are they gonna be culturally competent?

Am I culturally competent?

I lack a lot, and I'm trying my darndest.

Uh working the social work network is uh really difficult with this sort of work and uh perhaps coming from more of a um c community place instead of police.

Maybe that's an option.

Um things to consider.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments, Chair, that concludes all speakers on this item.

Thank you, Clerk.

Um, and uh just a point of privilege, I'll make a motion to um advance this item, but add and add myself as a co-sponsor since I was not able to do that at rules.

Um and then Councilmember Brown, go ahead.

Okay, excellent.

Thank you so much.

Um, so you know, great job, um Councilmember Wong on this item, also um OPD as well.

Um I mean we like we like innovative ideas, right?

And and doing all that we can to um just kind of um help support the varying needs that we have in our community.

Um so I'm ultimately supportive.

Um I wanted to call our attention to um I guess it's page two of the report, and it just says how the city of Oakland must provide qualified staff um as practicum instruct instructors for the students, these can be supervisors and educators responsible for the orientation.

I did hear you identify that uh that would come from the special victims unit.

I think that's what I heard, um, but was hoping for a little bit more clarity on that specifically, and you know, who's who is genuinely qualified to serve as a practicum instructor, and then I think my last note, given the um areas of focus that they would include, um I would be hopeful that we would also include our partners at Macro as well.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Um I just want to be clear um what I said was we'll be identifying a lead uh practicum instructor.

Uh they will be assigned a special victim section to assist.

Um we have not identified a practicum instructor yet.

Okay, thank you, um Captain U for that clarification.

Um and so in identifying who that is, is it safe to assume that it is already someone hired within OPD?

Yes, it'll be go ahead.

Yes, the instructor is gonna be um hired in a police officer.

Of course, it's it's about social work.

Okay.

Uh Councilmember Fife.

Go ahead.

Yes, um, Chair Wong, so is this a program that you researched?

Um, or is or I'm trying to understand where this is coming from?

Because I I don't have any reference um in in my knowledge of policy at the city of Oakland where this has happened.

The Stanford is similar but not the same.

So I'm I'm trying to understand because you said you're going to add yourself as a co-sponsor.

Isn't this coming from you or no?

Well, yes, it I mean, it's not.

You can see that um technically in the sense that uh this I'm not listed as a co-sponsor, but we had a discussion earlier, OPD and myself, and uh I just I was not able to make it to rules committee to add myself as a co-sponsor, so that's why where's this program?

Who's brain child is this?

Did this come from OPD or did are it I initiated the conversation?

So for me, this has come out of uh the challenges that we've seen with police recruitment and wanting to look at innovative ways to get um especially this generation of young people uh interested in policing, but also to help shape the future culture, what OPD looks like and to me that that means integrating the idea of police social work and social work into the police department.

It also comes from my own just lived experience, honestly, as a domestic violence victim, and also uh seeing that resource gap where which was um named on the slide of you know, there's the initial 911 response, but what happens afterwards?

Is there cont is there the follow-up afterwards for someone who um has been responded to the police and they need uh resources afterward after the 9-1-1 incident, right?

Um, and so that is uh in that sense come out of my brain brain child.

I started doing some outreach to some uh social work schools.

Um I looked up what social work schools had existing law enforcement partnerships since that seemed like the easiest way to start, right?

So I definitely think there's opportunities for OPD to do this if this is successful with some more local social work schools, but USC already had an existing social work school and law enforcement partnership, and that's why you see this for us, and then I brought it to OPD, and uh OPD was uh a welcome partner in and moving this forward.

Okay, and the reason I'm trying to clarify is because I'm trying to determine who my questions should be directed to.

Okay, sure.

I would say if brain child questions can go towards me, uh, like act how it will actually be implemented and what it looks like uh should be directed at Captain U.

So okay, thank you.

So through the chair, I thought you had a different position.

Are you still captain?

Uh today I'm acting deputy chief, ma'am.

That's what I thought.

Um Deputy Chief, you then through the chair.

Can you explain to me how this would work and how many students would we have?

And how do can you just walk me through what this would look like on uh, I don't know, uh part one call, a priority one call?

Right now, the initial assignment is to be in our special victims unit, uh, which is investigative.

They will not be deployed out to the street.

That could be a future program setup.

But right now, after uh this is to set up the MOU so we can work with USC to start mapping out the entire program.

But the initial um step is to have the interns assist in the office setting with our special victim section.

So they will not be out on the streets deployed.

So a college student, are we talking about graduate students or undergraduate students?

Graduate level students.

Like a freshman in college, freshman no.

It's also like a master's oh I'm sorry, you said graduate.

Yes, yes.

I apologize.

Oh, thank God.

Um, so a graduate student would come into the PAB and or and the investigative unit and sit with an officer that's working on an investigation.

Yes, if if we're gonna trying to kind of spitball uh kind of map this out, our investigators meet with victims, uh from child abuse to domestic violence to sexual assault.

Uh obviously, like um our speaker had said, we're gonna have background checks, but that's that will be all be built into our program after adoption of the MOU so it could work with USC and map out a program that uh works with USC, the interns, as well as the police department.

I I I guess I don't want to take up this whole time because I don't I don't think we have the time to go through every single question I have without seeing the actual program mapped out.

I wanna I want to be able to, if I don't know how we go into an MOU without being able to review what the program actually is.

I see some overarching ideas here which are phenomenal.

I think they're great, and innovation again, I also believe is great, but I'm I'm voting on signing a memoranda or supporting an MOU, a memorandum of understanding when there are questions that I think need to be clarified before voting to move something forward that has never happened before.

Um so brain child question.

Okay, sure.

What do you have the program mapped out yet?

No, this to my understanding, because this goes back into the implementation side of things, is the MOU is needed to have those conversations to really design the program.

You need an MOU before you design a program to have explain that to me.

You need an MOU to have a conversation with USC?

Yes.

Yeah.

Through the chair to our parliamentarian or maybe our um ACA.

I I just I need more I I need more time, I think, with this to I would like to meet with you because today, based on what was presented, I think there are a lot of positive things um that are being mentioned here, but I have a lot of questions around who is responsible if something goes wrong in these situations, if there's referrals by these students who I'm sure you know that's one of our premier colleges, but who takes responsibility if there are legal um implications to some of the decisions they make or some of the actions they take, does that fall on the city or does is USC ensuring this program?

Um so I'm I'm concerned about legal implications.

Also, macro can't go into people's homes.

So how then are we offering the opportunity for it it but then they're not going into people's but you so what I had listed before is that is part of the s types of services that these interns can do.

So they've already worked with LAPD, they've worked with Santa Monica PD and they've worked with our Gardana PD.

There have not been issues with these in their work with the other police departments, and so we can define it as it is.

I think given that we have a different uh risk profile, let's say, given our oversight with the NSA.

Uh it sounds like to me the uh that what OPD is looking at on the implementation side of things is not having those sort of in-home crisis response.

But that is part of what they've done at other police departments, yes.

Do those police departments also have macro style you because this sounds like this should be housed in a program like macro.

Um, but I don't know because that program is also having there there's some issues we need to work out there, right?

I just like I said, I have so many questions, but without the actual program to review, it makes it hard for me to um actually have a robust conversation.

It's just the uh hypotheticals, and I I would like to see something concrete that I can have more um positive deliberation on.

I think it's great ideas, um, but I also would like to to know more about the programs that have happened in the cities that you mentioned.

So that's my initiative.

Um I will say that there's some time urgency here because we're trying to bring on a class by August of this year.

Um and so there is.

Okay.

Yeah, that's helpful.

Yeah.

So then that that changes my perspective then for me.

So we can um I'm complete at this time.

And I think if there's some interest in having more detailed reporting, is Chief DeTasco has been the person that's been on point, uh, is my understanding at OPD that when he is here, he can add more color commentary on those details since I have not been in that because that's on the administrative side of things.

I did the initial outreach to the to the respective schools of social work, uh you know, introduce them to OPD, and they've been carrying it since then.

So I don't have all of these details.

Uh I don't know if cat uh deputy chief uh you if you have those details or if it's better to you know have uh AT so to speak uh answering.

But it's definitely um Chief Dedesco was the primary um lead from OPV's side.

Right.

Um he ran the MOU through our city attorney's office who reviewed a lot of our legal concerns about this, but obviously the minute details and everything can definitely be broken down by Chief Tedesco at a later time.

But uh definitely the city attorney's office has reviewed this MOU for legal concerns, and they have uh they have already passed this.

Uh but definitely uh if we want uh I could uh relay any questions with the Chief Tedesco and get back to uh our council members.

Okay.

Uh Councilmember Houston.

Yes, through the chair.

Um social work was really important.

Uh it brings a human element to it, it really does, and I like it.

But as my colleague said right here, where's the standard operation procedures?

It's like um I like it, but I don't want to rush something to it at the same time.

I think we should just hold it here and then come back with some of the have Tedesco here because Tedesco really knows what he's doing.

Not saying that you don't, I'm just saying that if he was the brainchild too, it'd be good to have here.

I think we should just hold it here until we get some like standard operation procedures and just um um can speak to it because if you said the city attorney cleared it, can the city attorney speak to it now?

What is the question?

I'm just saying about this the the the legal ramifications for having um students come from uh uh this university.

See that's what I'm saying.

I I don't necessarily know how to answer that question.

You need to be more specific, like about what the question actually is.

I don't know for what legal ramifications you need.

Okay, so I think we should just hold it here until we get a just a little bit more information.

That's what that's my thoughts.

Okay.

Um, Captain Udo you know or Deputy Chief Cap uh U.

Okay.

Do you know in terms of the timeline since uh, you know, is there like a certain date by which we need to have this either voted on uh and gone through city council or not?

And or do is there do we miss a window of opportunity to bring on this this class?

Based on the timeline, it does appear that there is uh um the window of opportunity, obviously based on kind of the school school year, right?

And and programs with USC and when when to start an internship program.

So I believe there are time limitations, but I don't know exact ones uh what what were exact the exact time like due date is for this.

Okay.

But the goal is to have this emp have this implemented in August.

Okay.

I think uh if I recall from some of the conversations, there was an actual MOU as well.

I didn't see that in the there's a report, but I didn't see it attached.

Um I think AC Phillips, that is something since colleagues are asking for more details.

Is we should get the actual MOU attached and into this document, into this item.

Okay, Councilmember Brown.

Yep, thank you, Chair Wong.

Uh that was actually gonna be my exact call out uh two things.

One, can we actually see the actual MOU?

And then two, how close are we to actually finalizing like the details of like the practicum?

Like, especially if we're now hearing that there's a potential for a class in August.

I imagine we must be nearing completion of kind of the scope and and in those items.

Councilmember Fife.

I would like to understand, I would like to get an answer to Councilmember Brown's question.

I think that's relevant.

Are we close to I'm not sure if we have the person in the room?

We weren't prepared to hear this item today.

So if August is the deadline for us having to approve an MOU, then all of this information along with uh Tedesco should have been here so that we can so I'll speak for me.

I don't want to speak for the rest of the committee, can make an informed decision on what's being presented.

Um I should have no we we should have had this information for the public to read in the agenda report, and again, I think this is a great idea.

I have I hear some great um potential benefits for the city of Oakland with this concept, but I need to think more intentionally about what is being recommended, um, and I want the time to be able to do that.

I think our can our constituents deserve that, and so does this committee.

So I this is not a knock on the concept, but it is just me asking for more information so that I can make uh a decision based on that information.

Okay.

What are the risks or the concerns to my colleagues that way uh we can proactively address them?

It is I will say it is important to me for this item to pass.

We had a hearing or an item earlier before on how um domestic violence victims and special victims units are there's not enough investigators.

So let me also make the argument that yes, there's a risk of this going wrong, but we also know there's not enough resource for this specific type of victim in OPD.

And so I I do want to see this pass.

Um, but I let's hear what the concerns are so we can be proactive about addressing them.

Uh go ahead, Councilmember Brown.

Um, yeah, I asked two specific questions, and then I think you called on Councilmember Fife.

So I would like my questions answered.

Uh do you want to take a stab at it, Council uh Deputy Chief Yue?

No, she gave me the questions earlier, so I'm gonna note them down and uh have them addressed uh with uh Chief Tedesco.

Okay.

Uh and so I feel like there's consensus that we don't have enough information, and so although I am a hundred percent in support, I just would like to see some more supporting information.

Okay, also colleagues, the full MOU, I stand corrected, is actually part of the attachment in the agenda.

So I I would recommend that uh committee members that you do review that and uh take a look.

Uh yes, ACA Phillips.

Apologies, chair, uh, through the chair to the rest of the committee.

It is attachment A.

Um, if you take a look at that, that's the MOU.

Okay.

Yeah, I sorry if I may chime in.

I think uh thank you.

Um administrator Phillips, uh, but I believe one of the things that we were calling out is the kind of uh, you know, what the specifics of what will be done um as we are having a class that's coming in August.

Okay.

Gotcha.

Understood.

I think um we will follow up with uh Chief Tedesco and prov uh provide an update.

We'll continue this item then.

Um I will say that uh you know, I have not been in the implementation side of things.

This is really rested on Chief Tedesco, but uh I think some of this is gonna be student-specific, right?

What is it that they want to get also out of their experience?

And until we have the MOU, that's part of my point here.

We are not able to uh find out the profile of the students that is interested in this type of program.

So uh go ahead, Councilmember Houston.

Okay.

Uh so I just wanted to kind of comment for a suggestion then.

So we can continue this request and request more info specifically on the MOU to kind of address some of the outstanding questions.

And uh additionally, if you guys do have substantive legal questions you want to forward to my office, you can do that in advance, and we can uh respond to them there uh uh directly to you from there once you have more time to kind of think them out.

Uh so we can request by the majority of those present for additional specific item from staff and continue to reschedule the item, but that's just the options that we can do.

Okay, got it.

So there's a motion on the floor.

Does someone want to make a substitute a motion?

Councilmember Fife.

I'm sorry, where you made the motion.

Uh, I made a motion to add myself as a sponsor and I to accept the staff recommendation to move the item forward.

I don't have a substitute motion.

Someone going to either, no one's gonna make a substitute.

Because I'm I and anyways, I made myself clear in terms of where I would like to see this go.

Uh Councilmember Houston, go ahead.

So I don't think there was a second on uh uh council member uh uh Wang's motion.

Uh so I guess the next step would be someone has an alternative motion about how they want to proceed today.

So once the suggestion was to continue this item and request more information.

Okay, so uh council member Houston.

It sounds like you have a motion.

That's why I'd already said I said that we should just keep it in um um in committee until we get some of our council member five's questions answered, council member Brown's questions answered, and a few of my legal questions answered.

I like it.

No, I'm telling you, I like it.

I like the social worker part about it because but I wanted to know, okay.

Let me ask through the chair, let me ask you, what's the pluses and negatives to this program?

What's I want plus and negatives?

Give me your pluses and your negatives.

Alright, in my opinion, because there could be a lot of pros and cons, council member.

As we stated before, uh extra resource free internship, which would no cost to the city is a plus.

Uh obviously there's risk of adding any um interns or personnel into our city, but uh having um interns who are already in a master program for social work is a additional knowledge base for our department that we can lean on.

Additional staff uh pretty much internship staffing to assist with our special victim section for now, as well as what council member uh Wong said about a possible a recruitment route for the city of Oakland.

Those are all I would say pros that I see in this program, and I believe the cons uh right now are the risk of adding personnel, but then we have a MOU with USC, and as we develop this program, obviously this is a pilot program, and as everyone said, this is something that hasn't been done before.

So we're going to have um questions, kinks, as well as things to work through.

Um I wish we could design like a perfect program for this, but as we said, this is a pilot program.

It's gonna be difficult to map something out such as this for five years without any adaptation.

I would say the program would have to adapt, change based on the needs of the city of Oakland, Oakland Police Department, as well as the learning progress of the interns.

I hope that answers based on my opinion.

I also want to note that in the MOU it states that the school requires that student interns obtain professional now practice insurance through a blanket policy secured by the school before beginning their practical placement experience.

The coverage liability limits are one million dollars each claim and three million dollars aggregate.

Okay.

Councilmember Houston.

Through the chair.

Um what did you say about the insurance part?

Uh it looks like that students are required to pr obtain malpractice insurance.

Uh and that the coverage liability limits are one million dollars for each claim and three million dollars in the aggregate.

And that was going to be my next question about who covers this insurance wise, because like I said in closed session, we are a lot of things, right?

Um so I just wanted to know who will cover, should it be more insurance liability?

Should it be more?

Yeah, that does.

Councilmember Fife.

I'm I'm good.

I'm I'm really struggling with this item right now, and I think I should just wait.

I don't did we need a second to hold this item in committee, because if so, I'll provide the second.

Uh for the motion, we also need if you want additional information, you need to specify what's oh I'm sorry, line I I know what I'm supposed to do.

I apologize.

So council member um Houston already made the motion, but I think there needs to be uh additional language added to continue this item to a specific date or a non-specific date if that's what we're gonna do.

So I think that needs to council member Houston, you should identify that with the request for additional information.

Yes, um, for an additional day.

What's the next time?

Because you said it's urgent.

What's the next time we can hear that?

It would be two weeks from now at the next public safety.

So let's hear it the next public safety and um just hold it here for the to the next when is the next public safety?

What what date is that?

Through the chair to council member Houston, it's May 26th.

May 26th.

Okay, okay, and then what um additional legal information that uh I'll send to the city attorney's office.

Sounds good.

And then uh colleagues, it's Councilmember Brown.

You've uh count all of you have had some questions.

I would ask if you could send them to me, and then I can work with OPD and AC Phillips to make sure that uh you all have your questions answered and we uh at the next time that we present this, that would be a brown act violation.

We can't all the committee members can't send you our questions.

It uh through the chair individually, you cannot send me through the chair to the parliamentarian if you could clarify what would be legal for us to do.

While we're waiting, um, through the chair.

If I can ask council member Brown, I believe she asked for a program implementation plan.

Uh just want to verify if I heard that correctly through the chair.

Yes, that is correct.

I was just gonna chime in and say a draft curriculum.

Through the chair received.

Thank you.

Uh so to answer the question that was posed about uh the Brown Act, uh, the best way to do it would be to send it to city administration instead of to council member Wong.

And if you guys could on the record today just kind of state the general topic of the kind of questions, the information you want, uh, just for this for the motion itself, that would be helpful.

Okay, thank you, Patrick.

Let's move to the vote.

Do the chair to the maker of the motion.

Please specify what you guys are requesting in a supplemental.

Hold it until the next committee meeting the curriculum with the curriculum with the draft um curriculum and um some legal questions that I have for the city attorney.

Okay, so that's a motion made by council member Houston, seconded by council member five to hold this item in committee with the request to staff to provide in a supplemental a drop curriculum.

And answers to specific legal questions to the city attorney's office.

Honoral council members Brown.

All right.

Hi.

Hi.

Houston.

Aye.

And Chair Wong.

No.

Thank you.

Item number six passes with three eyes, one no to hold this item in committee with the request to staff to provide supplemental information.

Reading in item number seven, receive a biannual informational report from the Oakland Police Department on Crime Data in the City of Oakland, and we have two speakers that signed up to speak.

Okay, great.

You have the floor.

Thank you.

With me is also Deputy Chief Rojas from the Bureau of Operations 2 East End.

We are here to present the biannual six-month report from October 2025 to March 2026.

I'll kind of give you a brief overview.

Is this still a three-minute presentation, ma'am?

You this is a hefty presentation, so you will have more than three minutes.

Okay, thank you.

I'll kind of give the overall high level view of the city, followed by kind of an area breakdown.

Myself will be presenting areas one, two, and three, followed by Deputy Chief Rojas presenting areas four, five, and six.

If you go to slide two, the uh crimes uh citywide crime stats overall for the entire city.

Uh, we're seeing a reduction uh in comparative from October 2024.

When we compare the six month comparison, it is based on six months uh last year to six months this year because we kind of compare the summer months to the winter months, it's gonna be slightly different.

Therefore, we compare October 2024 to March 2025 to October 2025 last year to uh March 2026 this year, kind of a six-month span span.

Overall, part one crimes are uh down by 21 percent.

Uh the highlights here within the statistics, uh homicides down 30 uh 20 uh 26 down 10 from 36 to 26, uh 28 uh percent reduction, uh robberies a major reduction from a thousand one hundred and eighty to six hundred seventy-three, forty-three percent reduction.

As you can see, uh major reductions within all part one categories.

Uh, I do want to mention uh a week, I believe a week prior, there was a request from uh council member Wong regarding uh adding the part two crimes into uh this presentation.

Uh the uh OPD follow-up on that with our crime analysis unit.

Uh part two crimes obviously is pretty much the entire uh crime, every single other crime related to the city of Oakland.

Uh our crime analysis unit would would take a would be very resource dependent, as well as our our crime analysis team would be uh very much have to uh dedicated uh more than a week to complete those statistics.

Uh I would like to offer um in response to that, uh, possibly focusing on specific part two crimes that uh the committee has interest in interested in, and I can get back and we can get back to you on that.

Uh is that okay?

And I'll continue with the part one crimes.

Sounds great.

Thanks so much.

All right, as I as I stated, uh robberies uh down additionally shootings uh also down uh 15 percent.

Citywide.

Um the next slide is gonna be for the areas.

We're gonna dive into each one of the areas uh itself, but this is uh this chart is just um kind of the numeral um statistics for each one of our areas uh citywide.

Going on to the next slide.

Uh this is uh uh geographic uh representation of the uh where the homicides have occurred uh within our city of Oakland within the last six months, uh broken down by the areas.

I understand obviously our council districts and our areas are slightly different since I know uh council member Walling and Council Member Fife are my council members.

Uh but that's the geographic breakdown uh place on our uh policing areas.

The next slide is uh is the shot spotter activations very consistent from the last year and the years before.

You do see that area five and six have the largest concentration of soft spotter activations.

And next slide is a homicide graft.

It has been trending down in the last six months.

There was a spike in January, but a reduction in February as well as March this year.

Moving on to the robberies.

We did see a spike in January, February, and March, but overall comparative to last year.

Again, it's a 43% decrease comparative to last year.

Another slide is for assault with firearms, our shootings, and you can see there it is relatively the same.

Shot sparter activations.

Moving on to the next slide, you see the increase in January.

But of course, we had New Year's Eve.

That usually spikes our data.

You can also see it's kind of going to be consistent for all through all six areas.

We have a reductions in crime statistically for robbery shootings, all our part one crimes.

And I will move to Captain Terribio.

We had a reduction of 14% in homicides, 37% in robberies, 32% in burglaries and thefts, and aggravated assaults was down 29% for Captain Toribio and Area 1.

We contributed that with the great partnership within the area one community, from Chinatown to the uptown bids, the cameras that are working with the bids, as well as our collaboration with CHP Alameda County Sheriffs, as well as our city partners.

To keep this short, I'm gonna move on to area two unless there's any questions about area one.

Area two is uh under command of acting acting uh Captain Dave Burke.

Uh major uh decrease in homicides from six to two in the area, and if you go to the next slide, you will see the two homicides that occurred uh in area two and where those locations were.

Kind of a high-level numbers view uh fora two.

Uh robberies have been decreased by 45% comparative to last year at the same time.

Uh we definitely contributed that to um work with flock as well as a real-time operations center where we're able to uh flag vehicles that are doing robberies and uh burglaries within our area respond to those locations quickly and either identify apprehend the suspects or even interrupt with those sprees that uh year the year before would contribute to kind of sets of 10 to 15 robberies and burglaries.

Uh, by arresting those individuals or just interrupting the sprees with faster police response, we have seen a reduction in the robberies.

Overall the numbers, uh residential burglary number uh burglaries down in area two by fifty-nine percent, commercial broglaries down sixty one percent, fecal death down twenty one percent, and burglaries overall down twelve percent.

Captain Burke attributes the reduction uh with uh proactive enforcement from the team, coordination with the EVP, as well as um, as I said before, uh the work with the clock cameras.

Now moving on area three.

Uh I would say the best area.

Sorry to interrupt if uh we're about 20 minutes till 8 p.m., so just uh if we could do this in a succinct way.

Great, thank you.

Area three has also seen uh major reductions in crime as well.

Uh 50 percent in homicides, a reduction in shootings as well as uh robberies by 30 percent.

Uh area three is the uh nexus for a lot of human trafficking in the um in the city of Oakland street level.

Uh we've made we focus a lot of our resources along the international boulevard, uh making multiple arrests, enforcing new uh laws that was implemented in January.

And with that said, uh collaboration again with a lot of our outside agencies, the FBI, ATF, Department of Transportation to reduce crime in area three.

Now I'm gonna pass the mic to Deputy Chief Rojas, unless we have some questions about area one, two, or three.

Good evening, everyone.

I am the acting deputy chief Francisco Rojas.

I'm in charge of the uh Bureau of Field Operations 2, East Oakland, which encompasses areas four, five, and six.

And uh to keep everyone moving here a little faster, I'm gonna try to speed this up and give you guys a high-level summary of BFO2.

So, in order to provide an overview of public safety trends and operational strategies of our bureau, um we looked across all three areas, and uh our focus has remained centered on reducing violent crime through intelligence-led-based policing, coordination enforcement strategies, strong investigative follow-up, and continued collaboration with community partners and our violence prevention organizations.

While the challenges remain and the fact that we are sometimes understaffed and we're dealing with that, uh we continue to see measurable progress in several key crime categories through collaborative collaboration, public safety efforts, and a focused uh resource deployment.

As stated earlier by DCU, we definitely have seen a drop in violent crimes.

So I'll break down each area and I'll try to minimize the time here.

So for area four, we experienced a mixed crime uh trends.

Uh, mostly most notable was violent crime index decrease about 28%.

Um with that said, though, we did have an increase of homicide uh to a 33% number, but if you look at the actual data, it goes from having three to four, obviously, any loss of life is unacceptable in the city of Oakland or in anywhere, but we stay very focused on that.

What we do to continue uh and try to continue to operate and reduce crime and specifically violent crime in the city, specifically for area four.

Um, the captain is uh utilizing intelligence-driven strategies to identify individuals and groups that are contributing to the violent crime.

Uh we work with our Department of Uh Violence Prevention, ceasefire, our real-time operations center, as well as our special resource section, East Oakland.

Again, the priority and the emphasis is community engagement as well, and uh continue to work with partnerships with our merchants, stakeholders, project dignity, public works, community leaders to address the quality of life concerns, reduce blight, improve public safety response throughout the area, and reduction in homicides.

I won't go through all the numbers as you see them up on the slide.

If there's no questions, I'll move on to area five.

Let's keep on speeding through.

All right, so area five are remains focused on preventing violent crime, particularly murders, shootings, and robberies during the reporting period.

Area five had a re had reduced homicide from one incident during the previous reporting period to zero.

I'll stop there, give a moment.

Area five.

It's really good.

Robberies also decreased by 39%.

At the same time, aggravated assaults increased by 10%, reinforcing the need to continue to focus violence reduction strategies and proactive intervention efforts.

So what we're doing in area five, again, continuing our intelligence-based less policing, uh, doing targeted enforcement, identifying individuals and groups contributing to violent crime activity, and working with our ceasefire teams, our real-time operations center, and our Department of Violent Crime Prevention.

The goal again is to continue those numbers and continue to decrease uh crime, specifically part one.

Any questions for area five?

Thank you.

I'll move over to area six.

Area six experienced significant reduction in overall crime during the October 25 through March 26.

Part one crimes decreased by 23% compared to the same reporting period last year.

One of the things that we noted was robberies and burglaries of 43% reduction.

While aggravated assaults decreased by 16%, homicides remain unchanged year over year.

We're working on X.

I know I saw you bring that up earlier.

So uh through the chair, I was just looking at um this is five months evaluation, right?

For these homicides, six months, six months?

Okay, that's what I want to know.

I thought it was five.

Okay, go.

Additional efforts uh that we've been focusing in area six is in conducting septet evaluations with local businesses to support long-term burglary prevention strategies, leveraging shot spotter technology for strategic deployments and coordinating with the criminal investigations division to support through investigations and follow-ups.

Basically, all the areas also partner with the Open Public Works and encampment management team to address blight, improve environmental conditions, and enhance overall community safety and quality of life.

As stated earlier by DCU, another thing that we use is definitely the flock cameras, but that's across the city as a whole, and really the main point today that I want to ensure that we have is that you know the the uh stats there show that we are definitely tracking in the right direction and uh and just pushing hard to continue and striving to uh lower crime in the city of Oakland.

Any questions for me?

Thank you, Councilmember Houston through the chair, thank you, Deputy Chief Rojas.

Me and Councilmember Five were saying we need to you need to be permanent.

We want you to be permanent.

Um I was looking at this right here in area six, um, where it says prioritize ceasefire, and that was for 2026, and then on page nine of eleven of area six, Captain Gordon Durham of 2025, they're the same.

Nothing changed.

Can we go to that slide, please?

Prioritize.

Because when I look at this, when I look at the public safety agenda here on page nine of eleven, which is area captain.

Can we go to that page?

Yeah, yes, and that's for 2025.

And then this one that you have on this this um PowerPoint is 2026.

They're the same.

Is this the slide you're speaking to?

Um, yes, that one.

And then if you look at the the agenda, look on page nine of 11 for 2025.

Where it says at the top, says Durham from 2025 comparison.

That and this is the same, and this one is supposed to be 2026.

They're the same thing.

Oh, got it.

So I believe that could have been an error, but we'll fix that and I'll send you updated.

Okay, cool, cool.

Thank you.

Um, I appreciate that.

No problem.

Let's go to public comment.

Ah, okay, council member five.

Uh, thank you for this report.

I I feel like it was a little rushed, and but I'm glad you got some key information out there.

So, through the chair, what would you say um to individuals in the public that are saying that crime is not down, and that all of the stats that are being reported are just because people are not reporting crime anymore?

Well, I would say that obviously if we look at the data, the data doesn't uh give us a clear picture of everything and feelings, right?

So the stats and the data show that crime is definitely down, the numbers are there, but I understand as a citizen of Oakland, born and raised in this uh in this city, I understand that if we don't feel safe, it doesn't matter what numbers I provide to you, you're gonna feel like that crime is still not down.

So that's a another uh section of this that we need to continue to work in just ensure that we're meeting with the public and making sure that we're going to the community meetings and having those one-on-one conversations to ensure that whatever those issues are that they're seeing that we're also addressing.

Because as the department, obviously, we're focused on violent crimes, right?

The homicides, the shootings, the robberies.

But sometimes when I hear from the community that crime isn't down, they're referring to our part two type crimes, something like blight or you know, vehicles abandoned in front of their home.

And so that's also important.

And so we make sure that we kind of dig that uh in a separate way, and we go area wide.

Each captain addresses those individual uh problems, and we have uh beat projects for officers, especially based on the fact that we're currently challenged with our staffing levels.

You know, the loss of of our uh our CROs or community resource officers, right?

The fact that we we are definitely under staffing, we're trying uh to build those numbers up.

Um, we need to find different ways of making sure that we are also addressing the smaller issues that make it feel that it's not safe in the city, and so again, we are very focused to ensure that we are understanding what those issues are and that we're making a best efforts to try to ensure.

Like, for example, I'll give you some.

We are now doing a lot more uh traffic stops for our our high injury network, right?

Um, we're also doing beat projects.

Some of my units that work the night shift, when there's not a lot of people out and have a little bit more time based on costs for service, they're going out and finding vehicles that are abandoned or stolen, and they're making projects out of that where they'll tag the car on Monday and tow it by Friday.

Wow.

You just said so much.

Thank you for all of that.

I just uh another clarifying question.

Um what do you where does a because you mentioned the high injury network?

Where does a fatality that occurs high injury network or whatever?

Where does that occur show up in the report?

So it's not a is it a homicide?

No, it would, I mean, it usually gets investigated through our traffic unit, it would be a fatal traffic collision, and that's where it gets documented from.

And okay, where would where in the death, or is it on here at all?

Captain, it's not on here.

Council member uh five our higher end route networks are or was not included in this crime report.

We can add that.

We do have that data, and we'll note that for next time.

Got it.

I was just curious because I'm like it's not a 187.

No, so okay, and that's important.

I think the the injuries that lead to fatalities anywhere on our streets are just as important because those often can be prevented just with you know the septid analysis by changing the infrastructure or whatever.

So I think those are low-hanging fruits.

So thank you for doing those stops in those areas, it's really really critical.

I have a lot of high-injury network streets in my district, but I also want to ask with the um decreased number in officers, what would you attribute the dramatic drop in all of these numbers to?

Well, you know, one of the biggest things is we we went back to our ceasefire module, right?

Where we're doing targeted enforcement, also with a lot of the updated uh technology that we have with our real-time operations center, more focused on specifics, our flock cameras that helps us immensely, where we're able to gather information when there's a crime and we're able to use that information, get uh real-time updates and follow-up, and as well as the partnerships that we've been building for a long time with the community, where community members are calling more than they used to, and giving us information, uh, real information firsthand, and it helps us.

And so, by doing that and staying real focused, you know, grounds on boots on the ground, I believe it's what's helping us in increase and lower that uh that crime.

Oh my goodness.

Oh, my la I'm sorry, last question.

K can you document the how Flock has led to the decrease in crimes and aided um the police force in solving some of these issues or being able to have a real-time response?

Definitely, and we do, we usually send that information in.

We make sure that officers, supervisors, anyone that uses the flock camera for any type of crime.

We have we call them success stories, and we provide that.

If you want, like an example of a recent incident, um, I would say well, okay, okay, there you go.

Yeah, I just I want to get to the CPRA item, which I also think is very important.

I know a number of the folks in the audience are for that item as well.

Councilmember Houston.

I want to move it, but I just wanted to say to the chair, Deputy Chief Rojas, you guys are doing a good job.

You guys are doing a fabulous job.

I support you.

And like I said, in my last my last statement was it's not the police.

I blame the departments that have been waiving these contracts where our youngsters, because if you saw that that that shot spotter, can you pull that up real quick where that shot spotter in my district in Kevin's district?

Can you pull that up?

I'm familiar.

I'm familiar with that, and you're right.

We do have a lot of shot spotters.

Thank God most of those you have not resulted in actual victims being shot, but you're right.

Right, right.

So we just need more equity.

Okay, thank you.

I appreciate it.

For sure.

And um, I I would say just uh for for me, part of the reason that I want to dig into the part two crimes is because there's actually some really important crimes that are being surfaced in these current reports.

As you all know, I care about human trafficking, and that is not something that is currently in the part one report.

I think there's a number of other important crimes that are in the part two report.

So um I I do want to start digging into that data.

Um I do think it's a positive sign that we're seeing the decreases in the part one data that now we're looking at what is the quality of life um issues that you know we we want to lift up.

Um I just want to note too is that uh I think people often also look at they want to come I actually want to compare Oakland's crime to pre-pandemic since we all remember there was that surge of crime during the pandemic.

When we do this year over year comparison, it's still looking at those um, it's still looking at the aftershock, right?

Of the pandemic, COVID.

Um I will say I was just pulling up the 2018 report.

Um, and overall things look positive.

The one type of crime that really sticks out to me is the burglary, and the burglary numbers in 2018 were in the 2000s.

We are still at those elevated numbers here in 2026, and so um I think that is that is one thing that is noteworthy that may have to do with some of uh what our our citizens think.

Okay.

Um we do have public comment, right?

Let's move to that.

Calling in the names that sign up to speak on item seven, Asada Olavala and Blair Beekman.

You fail to address the fact that you're looking at a hierarchical report.

Hierarchical report means you're not seeing all crime.

Higher archae means if somebody steals a car, go rob a bank, and then kill somebody, you will only see the higher offense, which would be the killing.

You won't see the other two.

I don't know why we do this, we don't report all crime in totality.

Then you address mine.

There's some areas of crime activity that we are not addressing.

Drug trafficking, sex trafficking, domestic violence, hate crimes, side shows, shoplifting, illegal gambling, uh, illegal possession of firearms.

That's just some of them.

And any crimes, we need a report, Ms.

Fife, on youth crime.

Any criminal behaviors under 17.

We need to do this because we're having some youth activities, which would include our side shows and shoplifting, heavily uh participation by our young people in those areas.

Uh okay, I'm gonna stop because you need some time to get out of here.

Thank you for your comments.

Switching to Zoom user Blair, you can unmute yourself and begin your two-minute comments.

Hi, thank you.

Uh Blair Beekman.

Um thanks for this item.

Um I I I just uh a reminder of our accolades of uh having to deal with the Trump administration, you know, in the past year, who is ready to come in, you know, with both barrels into places like Oakland and say the world needs a change when we've already been working on some really important stuff and accomplishing really good things.

So good luck in those efforts.

Um I think we're we are trying to shift to a world with less and less police.

Um how we can think about that on the last item, hopefully can be important.

And um I was also considering that uh it was very it was nicely mentioned by all sides uh the different uses of block, you know, the after crime events, and it sounds like uh a bit of predictive policing that's used with block, and um that is I guess some of their better work, and I I like to hear the stories more of what uh uh police officers themselves can do, and like all comp police officers can do.

And I've been learning, you know, language such as you know, we were doing a lot of important good crime investigative work before surveillance tech.

We weren't like in a dirt, it has been of help, no doubt.

Um, but uh, you know, good good investigative work can and does happen without technology, and uh it's important we remember that, and we we can rely on ourselves and uh and how to solve crime.

At least that's what I'm learning in San Diego.

We had really, you know, we're always considered one of the safest cities before the big o'clock introduction and stuff.

So um thanks.

Oh, and uh quickly add uh I saw a night heron in downtown uh San Diego this morning.

It really reminded me of days in Oakland.

Uh thank you.

Thank you for your comments, Chair.

That concludes all speakers on this item.

We just need a second now.

There is a motion on the floor, all seconded.

Thank you.

That's a motion made by Councilmember Hewson, seconded by Chair Wong to receive and file this informational report and committee on roll councilmember Brown.

Excuse Councilmember Fife.

Aye.

Councilmember Houston.

Aye.

And Chair Wong.

Aye.

Thank you.

Item seven passes with three ayes, one excuse.

Brown to receive and file this informational report in committee.

Reading in item eight, receive a biannual informational report from the community police review agency regarding the functions and duties as required by OMC 2.46.030, and we have five speakers that signed up to speak.

Okay, great.

Uh, before I turn it over to uh Director Lawson on the report, um, I did uh agendize this item.

I think it's important that uh we discuss this um actually required by the charter are by um annual informational reports from uh the CPRA.

So this is I think the first one that's happened maybe ever, um, at least when I was looking at the legislative record, and so and then we have the next one scheduled in November.

So uh Director Lawson, please take it away.

Yeah, thank you.

I appreciate the opportunities uh to speak to the committee.

I do have it's biannual is also a legitimate word.

It's in fact that is the title of the item.

Anyways, go ahead.

Sister, doesn't seem to be a history of this presentation.

I wasn't sure necessarily what information um you would like to hear in full, whether you don't want to kind of a recitation of what the organization is or just the statistical data that's required to be provided by the charter.

I know it's a bit late now, so if it if it's suitable, I can give you the statistical data, and but I would like to want to when I come back in the fall to give you more of an update as to what the agency's doing, kind of what our priorities are and what the goals are.

But if we can pull up the uh slides, we'll go to the first slide.

So there is a series of information and that that's required to be reported in the biannual reporting.

Uh the first one being the number of complaints submitted to CIPRA, together with a brief description of the nature of the complaints.

This is for so I'm reporting now for entirety of 2025, and we just completed our annual report, which will be formally disseminated in later this month with the police commission, but we had 1,019 complaints uh received in 2025.

The nature of those complaints are primarily use of physical force, performance of duty, conflict towards others, harassment, discrimination, and truthfulness.

You go to the next slide.

The identification, the council district from which the complaints originated.

This data is not captured by CIPRA.

Historically, they have not captured it.

And this uh this is reflective of a major issue that I have with the organization and changes I'm making.

We retained a project manager identified in August of last year.

We wanted to bring in a project manager.

We finally were able to hire her in February.

One of her prime responsibilities will be um uh ensuring we have a proper data management case management system.

Currently, CIPRA does not have a system that I that I think is adequate to maintain and report out the data that should be kept.

So right now we are in the process of interviewing uh and procuring a system to do case management data tracking, and one of the issues that we will be tracking will be identifying uh the council districts and the complaints that we get from the various districts.

If you go to the next slide, the demographic profiles.

Once again, this is not data that's kept.

Uh we do know, for example, for profiling and discrimination click cases, we have some data, but in terms of keeping demographic data for all the complaint complaints, there is not a system in place uh for CIPRA, and that's another uh line item a category that we plan to implement in our document in the case management system.

The charter also requires that the number of agencies pending complaints that are being investigated uh be in indicated.

Currently, we have 89 pending investigations as of April of this year, uh, down considerably typically we have over a hundred.

Charter requires reporting the uh the types of misconduct that's investigated, and this is by allegation.

We had 276 allegations of use of force that we investigated in 2025, 177 allegations of performance of duty, and that's the broad category that includes things like um failure to activate body warrant camera or could be search and seizure.

So it's a broad category uh when it comes to performance of duty, conduct towards others.

We had 86 allegations.

That is typically cases involving demeanor, uh, where the officer's demeanor was inappropriate and we felt uh to invest the need to investigate.

We have 44 cases, allegations alleging harassment or discrimination, those are primarily cases uh alleging profiling, and we had one allegation of truthfulness, and then we had nine allegations regarding uh violation of Miranda rights.

Total number of cases investigated was 637.

Earlier, I mentioned a thousand nineteen, that's how many cases we received.

Uh 637 is how many cases we actually at some point went through either in intake and investigating and investigative side to finally dispose of.

There are approximately 400 cases that come to us or more than that that comes that are easily not applicable to CIPRA, and they're closed out upon uh receipt.

Uh, they may be things that do what, you know.

I made a call into OPD and didn't get a response in the response took 20 minutes or something like that.

Those are things that we typically don't investigate and are closed out at the early stages.

We that's just the reporting by month.

We can move on in terms of number of closures.

Um, the results of completed investigations, we had 20 sustained allegations for 2025.

There were 375 allegations that were exonerated.

There were, which basically means the event occurred, but it was within OPD policy.

We had 153 cases, allegations are unfounded, meaning the allegation or the conduct that was alleged did not occur.

And then there are 49 allegations of not sustained.

And there were zero administrative closures and one informal resolution.

And I believe that's the case where someone just basically would drew their complaint.

There's no average, it's hard to say this average time because I would say the vast majority of the intake cases we get are closed very quickly because they're not mandated cases, are cases that CIPRA is really disposed to investigate.

And then those cases that do lead to uh disciplinary recommendations will take more than six months.

This slide identifies the number of department sworn employees who were for whom sustained uh findings of misconduct were made in the level of discipline that was proposed.

There were 14 sworn officers in 2025 for whom we uh CIPRA issued uh findings of sustained allegations.

There were a total of 21 sustained allegations against those 14 officers.

The level of discipline that was proposed ranged from anywhere from uh oral uh warnings to uh termination, and that was the proposed that was actually the discipline issued anywhere from oral reprimand to termination, depending on the particular case.

The number of closed investigations which did not result in sustained findings or discipline of the subject officer.

So that's 50.

Those are cases in which we actually did a report, but there were no sustained allegations.

So those are cases that go to invest.

A lot of cases we close out without a final what's called report of investigation.

Um we do refinal reports of investigation when there are cases that that are potentially sustainable, and then what this shows is there are 50 of those cases that we actually did not have sustained allegations even after a full report, and they were close out.

Number of cases referred to mediation.

CIPA did not have a mediation program in 2025.

I don't think the organization has had a mediation program since it's been CIPRA.

CPRB previously had a mediation program.

In the fall of last year, um the police council uh commission approved a mediation program that we submitted.

That program has been in the works, and actually we work closely with OPD, uh Youth Alive and uh community boards and organizations, and Chief Beer have been very uh very much involved in the process, and we think we should have our first mediation hopefully in June.

And we hope hopefully the chief will be a to participate in that.

Then it's reporting on the number of cases in which CIPRA failed to meet the meet the 180 day goals specified uh in the charter.

There were 23 cases where we did not close within 180 days.

Those are typically cases where sustained findings.

So uh if we have a case where there's likely going to be a sustained finding, the investigation will likely go beyond six months.

The next category is the number of times an OPD employee failed to comply with the agency's request for an interview or production of documents that did not occur.

We never had any problems there.

Uh the next was the number of times of uh sworn employee failed to uh comply with a subpoena, or whether discipline was opposed for any such non-compliance.

We never had any issues with subpoena responses in 2025, and so I think that is the last of the compelled items that we have uh under the charter, and I buy a new report if you have any questions.

Let's go to public comment.

Calling in the names that signed up to speak on item number eight in no particular order.

You can come up to the podium.

State your name for the record before you begin.

Ann Shanks, Millie Cleveland, Asada Olabala, Blair Beekman, and Raj Name Mandal.

So I've been following CIPRA for a long time, and I've never been satisfied with it.

So in this report, two areas of real concern are excessive force and racial profiling.

When he revealed the areas for which they were findings, I didn't see anything for the number of cases under profiling.

So it means that of the thousand 1,019 cases, none were under the banner of racial profiling or profiling as you have it here.

The history of CIPRA as well as the police department, when it comes to use of force, very few cases are sustained.

Very few.

So I want to know under the two of the 276 use of force cases, how many were sustained?

As I said before, this has been a long process when we would get reports, and I don't see those reports presented to the police commission that allowed you to see how you came to your conclusions.

What concerned me, there was an incident of identifying that CIPRA investigation process was very similar in its reports to what internal affairs was coming up with.

And it didn't look like there was a real and clear investigative process.

Another part of CIPRA at the end of the process, it had been recommended at one time that something would be sent out to the complaint individual to explain how the conclusion, what the conclusion was, how they came to that conclusion.

We never we never developed a process to inform the complainer about how the results were obtained.

And I think that's absolutely necessary, and I hope at some point we get there.

I think it's important to note that there is a lot of information that could also be provided, but this presentation is based on what the charter is requiring at this time, and that's what I appreciate from uh director Lawson.

Um I also think that there's uh technology that could be used to help aggravate a lot of the data.

Uh, but this council has been negligent in providing resources to CIPRA that is needed, as well as the resources for the inspector general and resources to the police commission as a whole.

Um I think there's a lot of time spent is also affected by uh whether CIPRA gets the information they need from the internal affairs in a timely manner, which can extend the time as well.

Um I also want to raise that even though the charter in 604 mandated a mediation program to be included, it was never it has never been implemented.

Uh, my observation from the police commission is actually Chief Mitchell was uh obstacle to that.

He didn't see a lot of the cases being appropriate for mediation, so I don't think uh the lack of mediation should be blamed on direct to laws.

Um, but basically I want to say that this information is the basic information that is required by the charter, and to have more substantial information that can be aggravated in a more detailed manner.

You need he needs the software and the technology to do that.

It's also something that Chief Beer actually requested as well.

So I hope you take that into consideration.

Um I actually think that this is uh a subject that warrants more than a couple of minutes at the end of a meeting that you're trying.

And the public safety committee, it seems to me, might want to be able to spend a little bit more time on it to ask other questions.

Whether CIPRA has plans in place to incorporate new investigatory work if work is moved from IAD to CIPRA.

The mediation program, it seems to me that a grant was actually lost, and it seemed like it wasn't being processed by the uh city administrator's office.

I heard that the police union was opposed to it, which is always a magic bullet to kill anything, including charter mandates.

And you know, none of that's being addressed.

This public safety committee, it seems to me should just be more interested in digging into some of these issues.

Uh I'd want to ask CIPRA if having GPS on in the uh OPD vehicles would impact their investigatory work.

The auditor has come before the council and talked about how GPS being turned on would help uh with response times.

Um nobody seemed interested in asking the auditor more about that, uh, which is regrettable.

I understand that the police union doesn't want it asked.

The community police review agency is the ones that uh identified the two major scandals that happened in 2023.

They're doing their job very effectively, and it's regrettable that you haven't sped up the discussion about shifting work.

Rajni Mandel District 4.

I appreciate that CIPRA's finally presenting to counsel under OMC 2.46030 after years of inconsistent reporting, a gap identified by the city auditor.

But frankly, the report before you tonight highlights serious transparency concerns.

It's essentially a one-page table with minimal narrative, methodology, trend analysis, or context.

Other departments are expected to provide far more robust reporting to council.

In addition, we don't really have uh consistency in the report as to uh what an allegation or a case is uh which can affect the numbers.

The report itself states that key ordinance required data, including council district and demographic in information was not captured in this year or prior years.

Yet police commissioners have been requesting demographic and aggregate reporting data since at least 2024, without resolution.

At the last commission meeting, Director Lawson and here, Director Lawson has acknowledged that CIPRA is still developing its reporting infrastructure and that the agency has lacked written operating procedures for a significant period of time.

The report also raises important questions and how cases are categorized and closed.

Uh Director Lawson has discussed concerns here regarding concurrent CIPRA and IEB investigations and possible impacts on discipline timelines and arbitration, yet no aggregate public data has been presented showing disagreement rates, impacts on outcomes, or measurable improvements to accountability.

If Oakland expects detailed methodology, timelines, and accountability from OPD under the NSA, council should expect the same level of transparency from civilian oversight agencies themselves.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Switching to Zoom user Blair Beekman, you can unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hi, uh Blair Beekman, thanks for this item.

It's nice to see a CIPRA item here at public safety.

Um I was noting at uh the recent police review items uh at City Council uh last week that um I I feel we don't talk enough about both groups.

Um they're very separated, and I wish they could be talked about a little more together, and this is the way to do it.

Thank you.

Um I've been really impressed by the words of uh Millie Cleveland.

Um she's really made a really strong case on the importance of uh that uh the police review should be a public process, and I've been very it's it's an interesting way to describe it.

I've been trying to understand that you want CIPRA as one set of principles and how to work, and then you want the police to review as a very separated different way to work.

And um Millie Cleveland's saying no, you know, there's still there's there's you know a legal standard to the police review that it's separate from the administration itself, and I I we're afraid to work more in terms of CIPRA and moving it into a world of more like towards CIPRA.

And uh Millie Cleveland's making it clear we don't have to be afraid.

Uh there's good standards in place, and I hope we're we want to be considered working towards those things and really question current uh police review ideas.

Um good luck with the CIPRA ideas, what you're doing here today.

It seems um you're doing some basic work and um to always hear that here working on their stuff is i it's important, and um thanks.

Uh I'm just trying to sort things out for myself.

Thanks for your patience in hearing me out for this item.

Thank you for your comments.

Chair that concludes all speakers on this item.

I do have some questions, and also I just want to say that I was trying to rush through the other items in this meeting to get to this item, okay, to to be clear, um, because I do think that this deserves more airtime.

And um, you know, my challenge is the public safety chair is that whenever I hold our public safety personnel late into these meetings, it results in more overtime.

So that's the challenge I have, which is why I wanted to have those other items first.

Um, but here we are at 825, and um it is late, and that's okay.

We're going to give the item the time that it deserves.

Um, any questions for my colleagues?

I do have some questions.

Uh seeing none, I'll continue.

Um, I have slides.

Okay.

Uh go ahead, Councilmember Vy.

I'm really trying to be respectful.

So I'll just say this.

Um, through the chair to the public.

Well, I'll I'll ask um to our CIPRA director, what is the budget?

What is your annual budget for your agency for your organization?

It's currently uh I think five point two million dollars.

Five point two million dollars.

And I think that if we're gonna mention the auditor's report about what is mandated by CIPRA, it's also um important to acknowledge that the auditor said that you need more resources to achieve the goals that you have to achieve.

And so when we compare oversight agencies to um what the Oakland police department has and can achieve, it's like comparing apples to oranges because the budget for the police department in 24 25 was almost 400 million dollars or nearly 20 percent of the budget for the entire city of Oakland and um a bulk of unrestricted funds for our general purpose funds, so we can't compare the two and act like we should be able to expect the same outcomes.

This is not to you, this is to the public.

We have to be fair, and our biases can't show if we're really talking about getting what's best for the residents of of the city.

So we we gotta be fair and honest in how we represent this information.

So there's definitely work to do um with CIPRA, but in order to do the work, you have to be funded adequately to do that work.

I just wanted to make that statement.

Um fair enough.

Uh so one question I just have is in this report, um, I see the term complaints, allegations, investigations.

Um they seem to be at at least because they're not defined explicitly, and because when I'm looking at this, not only the report that was attached, but also um I went to the police commission where there was the lengthier report that was submitted.

Um I took a look and I would just it would be helpful to clarify both for this body as well as well as the public, what each of those terms mean and the relationship that they have to an officer.

Is it um, you know, are multiple complaints?

Can they, I assume they can be um alleged against one officer, you know.

Can you just explain some of these definitions?

Sure, to the chair.

So typically if we get a we will get a a complaint from a citizen that may have multiple allegations against multiple officers.

So maybe if it's a say a use of force issue where someone alleges that the uh there was improper force use against them, they may have the allegation against say three officers, and there may be various different types of force use in those officers.

One may have brought him down, that's maybe one allegation there, and maybe another allegation of being struck stricken.

So each case can have multiple allegations against multiple officers.

So when we say allegations, those are the total number of specific incidence allegations that we investigate combined in all of the cases.

Individual cases, though, is probably we tend to try to talk about more in terms of allegations because in the end that's what it comes down to when it's presented to if there's this sustained case, that's what's presented to the chief, and that's what we discuss.

So we have to break it down on the allegations at some point because we can't simply say um we sustained on this complaint because it it may be you sustained on one allegation as to one officer when it could have been 15 allegations against three of three or four officers.

So are we more clear in the future on breaking that down?

Um that's all part of our getting a better data reporting system because all this information was actually have to pulled by hand month to month because we just simply do not have a good system in place for data control and management.

And we retained a set of project manager in February, it was previously um the head of data, uh data management for California's Department of Justice, and she's now interviewing and uh vendors to get us a better case management data system.

Right.

That that is good because I I did notice um some things that appear to be data discrepancies, at least when I was reviewing it, where for example, I think the executive summary said that there were 739 allegations, and then there was a snapshot table that listed 592 allegations, and it sounds like that is connected to this uh procurement that you're undergoing.

When is that expected to be complete?

Because I think one thing that I picked up on is the demographic data is really important as we uh we know we need to look at um how those complaints get sustained, who they come from, and it looks like that is a condition of you getting through this procurement process.

Can you talk about when that data is going to be available the next time we talk about this in October or November?

Can that is that data going to be available or at least the first snapshot?

No, is that it'll be available actually next year.

So we're interviewing vendors now.

Umce we decide on a vendor and implement a program that would likely be the end of this calendar year from what we're hearing from the vendors in terms of being able to train the program uh on board and actually have it functioning.

So we don't anticipate that we'll be able to get the full data that we want to report out into the uh 2027 annual year calendar year.

Okay, council member Houston.

Through the chair, Mr.

Lawson, remember it was a discrepancy since you're talking about discrepancies between a number um with you and the police.

Did you guys ever can you explain that so the public knows what that is?

And did you guys um come up with that discrepancy and who was right or what number was accurate, which one wasn't?

Yeah, to the chair.

Um council member Houston is referring to the scaly number of scaly cases that were pending, and when there's a discrepancy in the last time we came here, we had a number of scaly cases.

I forgot the number was 100 plus, I believe, and the OPD had a different number.

We never resolved that.

The number that I have was is was taken from the data that's presented by OPD uh every week.

So on Wednesdays, uh, and excuse me, say on Wednesdays there is a regularly scheduled disciplinary um hearing uh calendar, and on the Thursday or Friday, Friday prior, there is a submission of um of data which includes outstanding scaly cases, and that's the data that I provided to this uh committee at the time.

And so I have not since that last presentation here had a discussion with OPD as to whether it's the correct data.

But they only they would know because it's basically both coming from their sources, so BD would know which was correct.

Uh through the chair, thank you, Mr.

Lawson.

Is OPD over there?

No, they're they're gone now.

Okay.

Um one other question.

Um, are all your positions filled?

No, they're not.

So we have nine permanent employees currently.

A field force would be 17.

We have just closed out a job announcement to hire uh line investigators.

We hope to hire two line investigators.

We also hope to bring on a uh deputy director of investigations in June.

We've identified that position, and we're working with HR, we hope to bring that person on in June, and that will bring us up to 15.

Then we may not be able to hire any more depending on what's the positions may be frozen.

We don't so we will be hope to be a 15 this summer and and possibly in the fall, hire initial investigators.

So then we'll be we'll be at full staff.

Full staff is 17?

17 to 19.

Okay.

Um through the chair, what's the challenges of getting these positions filled?

What's your challenges?

Yeah, through the chair.

Um we have about 80 applicants for the current positions.

I think 30 to 40 will actually be minimally qualified, and that's we've had that position of that same result in the last two uh hiring uh rounds.

The problem has been uh the pay scale.

The investigators top out at 130,000 previously, and they had been attorneys, but we don't get attorneys applying at that pay rate anymore.

So in the past, we had say four attorneys, were investigators.

The last two job announcements, we had I believe one attorney apply, and and if I recall that attorney had been disbarred.

So that's been and we offered a position to uh one individual and at the last minute he decided not to take it instead.

He decided to take a position, I believe, in the South Beta paper.

So we've had some trouble um finding people qualified for investigator positions and then bringing them on board uh most recently.

Hopefully we'll see.

We haven't seen the pool as recent pool.

We have AD applicants, we'll get their final uh minimally qualified list within the next few weeks, then I'll know more than one more question through the chair.

So if you got more resources, what would be the difference in um filling these positions?

Yes, through the chair.

If we got more resources, we could one change the classification to bring on more attorneys.

We do need to we need attorneys at the investigator level.

Uh and we are doing that with we we are bringing on a deputy director of special of investigations next month.

That was the position that was kind of recommended by HR due to our hiring difficulties, and uh that's an attorney position.

And because it's the deputy director, it's a higher wage, and we can therefore recruit at the attorney level, that person will be responsible for overseeing all of the the complaint investigators levels two and three, um, so that's much needed that will help, and then if we have more resources, uh I would bring on more higher level investigators because right now we are in the process of contracting out investigations uh the high level investigations to outside firms uh because we do not have enough investigators with the experience level in-house to handle some of the complicated cases.

So, so are you sharing through the chair?

You tell sharing with us that you're not um choosing people because they're not attorneys?

No, we it no, we choose whoever we can who is qualified, but typically in the past through the chair, we've had applicants who were attorneys and have had more experience in um either not even if going to law school, have had more experience in uh in drafting legal briefs and in legal opinions, is kind of what they're doing in their in their job as as investigators.

So they have a little more background in doing analysis of legal uh issues, doing fact finding, and that's much of what they do in their job.

Last question.

So through the chair, can they can individuals um do investigations that aren't attorneys?

Through the chair, all of our investigators, none of our investigators are attorneys now, we have some fairly good investigators.

But you can do it it helps to efficiently if we have some attorneys.

Now we have it doesn't have to be attorneys, people with some background in legal.

Um it could be someone that's gone to law school or who just has significant background.

We're not getting any of those applicants right now.

What would be the uh pay scale to be competitive?

Can I spot go ahead?

Go ahead, go ahead and do it.

Yeah, what would be the pay scale to be competitive?

Do the chair.

I would really need to sit down and talk to HR, but it's probably minimum 150 more to 180 range before you can start.

I mean, there's been such a dramatic disparity in in pay from um in our economy now for a lot of the the people who are in the legal field compared to what we offer now.

Uh, that is hard to get applicants with that background.

Do you have additional questions, Councilmember Houston?

Sorry, I thought you were done.

Oh, okay.

All right.

Um, and then my understanding is that right now most of the investigations do rely on the IAD process until you have a difference, like until there's a difference of opinion.

How I would like to see in a subsequent subsequent report in the fall time, the times that you have disagreed, CPRA has disagreed with IAD's findings, okay.

Uh councilmember five.

Yes, through the chair.

Do you have a plan for transitioning um IA to CIPRO?

There is uh through the chair, there's a task force that's been convened to address that issue, and I believe the first meeting is tomorrow.

Oh, where and when it is I don't know the time because our representative is our uh our staff attorney uh who Karen Tom is our representative, so the city administrators' office has a representative.

I think uh city attorney's office has a representative, finance, HR, uh CIPRA, and the meeting is tomorrow.

I'm not sure what time or where they're meeting, but tomorrow is the first meeting.

So it's an internal meeting, it's not a meeting that's open to the public where they'll be.

No, it's not a public meeting.

And when will the there be information to be reported out?

Through the chair.

I don't know.

I think after this first meeting, we'll get a better sense of how it's going to be organized and how we'll proceed, but this is our initial meeting, so I assume they're going to be setting a lot of the parameters on how it's going to proceed.

But that information will come back to this committee or to the full council.

How will we know?

If you wanted to come back, I will bring it back.

I would like that to come back to the committee.

I'll I'll work to I'll work to schedule um an informational item if necessary.

Okay, great.

Uh one just stepping back, so there were 637 completed investigations in 2025.

Do you think that is um in your opinion?

What does that mean about the state of uh the Oakland Police Department?

Are complaints uh coming down over time?

Are they increasing just uh yeah, we'd love to hear your perspective on that?

Yes, it's hard to say I have to look at the prior years.

I haven't looked at them closely because some, and I'm not sure how um accurate the data is for prior years for me to make that kind of comparison.

Uh so I I think I don't want to make a be guessing as to whether or not there's a trend to be found there.

I try to we try to focus on trends we see within the the particular year, for example, um, and I may hope to report this out more in the fall.

And we see certain trends with um maybe search and seizure.

We see similar cases and similar concerns.

Uh we see certain trends with uh profiling, and and so I we want to highlight those trends within our reports, and I think an annual report does, but in terms of comparison over year to year, I I really can't speak on that now okay i would say um when we uh first of all we have to continue this item instead of filing it i we can receive and file okay all right um when we bring this item uh again in the fall time uh i think first of all we just need to have the charter mandated items that are stipulated in the OMC in terms of reporting uh the other thing that I would like to have covered is those discrepancies between uh IAD um and CIPRA and then the other thing I want to see is the year over year trends I think that's important to see where um the police department in CIPRA's independent take is is trending okay okay and uh you make it a motion no no you got another question yeah okay I remember remember I said oh though so who sets the uh policies for your office through the chair yeah currently we are we've just uh are finishing a through the chair I'm sorry a um a contract with a uh outside law firm or a personal service agreement and she will be drafting our uh our so ps uh standard operating procedures and our internal policies and we should she should start within the next week to two weeks and and that's where I can find more about these policies where can I find out more about them when she said so she's gonna they're gonna be public policies that she's gonna draft so we will we will issue them I will definitely attach to them when we come back in the fall okay I'll move to receive this okay thank you I believe we had the original motion by council member wong and then did you want to second it because she had the request for additional information okay so it was a motion made by council chair wong seconded by council member hewson to receive and file this informational report in committee with the request for the future report to include the discrepancies between IAD and CIPRA and to see the year over year over year trends on roll council member Brown is excused on uh councilmember Fly.

Councilmember Houston and Chair Wong aye thank you item number eight passes with three ayes and one excuse Brown to receive and file this informational report in committee moving on to open forum calling in the names that sign up to speak and Jenksadobala Rajani Mandal Blair Beekman and Mellie Cleveland.

So I'm very concerned with his social work item my mother was a social worker and my son has a master in social working in DC I might have a discussion with him about that but here's the thing this is an opportunity for students who are working on their masters to get credit for a course that they're taking this is under the umbrella of a course somebody has to give them the grade who is that and when I did the practicum the individual who had oversight of me in the classroom had to have specific qualifications the qualifications for this course is you have to be a social worker.

A police officer cannot give a grade on a course for a social worker.

How does this work that an Indian thank you for your comments and Janks, District three.

So, you know, the council asked, or the council instructed uh uh a process to begin with a working group to look at moving work from internal affairs to CIPRA a year ago, and then the council asked no questions, and it sat, I think it got thrown down the well in the city in the city administrator's office, and the council didn't do anything to find out what was happening, and it's been almost a year.

And I'm hoping that you can use this as a little bit of a lesson in terms of the need to pay a little bit more attention to things.

Things like macro, um, things like the civilianization so that more officers can be engaged in serious public in serious public safety issues, OPD overtime, which has not come to this committee, the meet and confer process.

If your name was called for open forum, please come up to the podium.

Rajni Mandal District 4.

Um, civilianization with an OPD is not the same thing as transferring an internal affairs authority to CIPRA.

There's a growing political narrative linking Measure E, police spending, and the OPOA contract to calls for expanding CIPRA and moving discipline outside OPD.

But the C administration recently stated that civilization of IAB is not feasible in the foreseeable future because of staffing limitations and CIPRA's current structure, and that structure matters because CIPRA is not a typical operational department directly managed by the city administrator.

Its governance runs through the police commission, meaning the city can't simply impose procedures, operational reforms, or accountability measures in the same way as other departments.

And it's especially important when CIPRA itself acknowledges unresolved infrastructure problems, including not having SOPs, missing ordinance required data, and incomplete reporting systems for this entire nine years of existence.

At the same time, recent OPC and CMC statements position it as an NSA um portion of the NSA.

Thank you, um, I think it's important to bring up again that the mandate to have a task force set up to transition IA to CIPRA was established over a year ago.

And while uh Dr.

Mandel brings up l legitimate questions about how this transition will occur, if the council had been on top of the city administrator telling him to get this work group started, these issues could have been worked out.

You don't wait a year and then say, and then say what's going on.

I also want to confirm uh agree that although civilianization and overtime has been agendized on the finance agenda, it is relevant for public safety.

It is not just a financial issue, it is an operational issue.

So I understand thank you for your comments, Ms.

Melly.

Moving to Zoom user Blair.

You can unmute yourself and begin your comments.

Hi, uh Blair.

Uh thanks for the meeting today.

Uh it was really interesting.

Uh to quickly offer um good luck with the uh USC uh social uh, well, the the the program that and with it uh that uh in working with police officers, you know, I mentioned as we are trying to make a shift towards using uh civilian uh persons overall more than just police.

Uh good luck in what macro or some sort of community agency can be work as a go-between uh with with uh this future uh SC program.

Um it's important or USC program.

Good luck in what you can be working on it.

Uh that's my two cents.

Uh to make sense of it.

Thank you that you offered to take some time with it.

Thank you again, one more time that you want to work on the cellbrite issues that you can bring it back in a year's time with possible new vendors.

Um you guys are doing some really amazing good work.

Um, thank you for your comments, Chair.

That concludes all speakers.

Okay, great.

This meeting is adjourned.

All right.