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Agenda Item

15 20-0556 Subject: Resolution In Support Of The Reimagining Public Safety Task Force From: Councilmember Taylor And Councilmember Bas Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution (1) Creating The Re-Imagining Public Safety Task Force To Create A Plan To Dramatically Shift Resources From Enforcement And Punishment To Prevention And Wellness For Integration In The Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-23 Budget Using A Robust Engagement Process With Community Stakeholders Rooted In Transparency And Accountability Including Those Who Have Not Been Included In The Conversation, And (2) Waiving The Advertising And Request For Qualifications/Proposals (RFQ/RFP) Process For A Contract With A Consultant Facilitator In An Amount Not To Exceed $100,000, And (3) Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate Future Monetary Or In-Kind Grants, Donations Or Contributions From Federal, State, County, Local Or Other Entities For The Task Force To Carry Out Its Designated Mission

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    Ashley Davidson about 4 years ago

    I STRONGLY support this resolution.

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    Holly Fincke about 4 years ago

    My name is Holly Fincke and I'm in District 4. I fully support this proposal. Many community organizations have done the front end work of raising this issue and researching many ideas to reimagine public safety. It is time, past time, for the city to invest in the next step of imagining and planning.

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    Aima Paule about 4 years ago

    I am a resident of district 1 and fully support this resolution. I want to see Oakland embrace a culture of prevention and wellness, instead of one of enforcement and punishment, and demonstrate this commitment through its budget and policies. The way forward must include a reimagining of public safety that doesn't rely so heavily on criminalization and police violence, which disproportionately harm the BIPOC residents of Oakland.

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    Darren Newell about 4 years ago

    The entire city budget would benefit from this level of engagement! Let's make public safety to be about shared economic well-being, positive relationships and visibility for all Oakland communities. Public safety is manifested by widespread access to mental health services, housing, jobs, access to healthful foods, schools and libraries. "Crimes" of survival are not solved by the current approach of suppression and enforcement to accept unacceptable conditions.

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    Sal Nicolazzo about 4 years ago

    I am a resident of District 3 and I strongly support this resolution. I trust community members and organizations with the project of imagining real public safety far more than I could ever trust the police. I want this city to invest in our collective well-being, not criminalization and caging, and the only way to get there is to make sure communities that have been most impacted by criminalization and overpolicing are able to lead the project of developing real alternatives to police and prisons.

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    Bruce Schmiechen about 4 years ago

    Strongly support building on the work that has been done to develop the Mobile Assistance Community Responders of Oakalnd (MACRO) pilots. We have a strategy on the table, in development for a year, that needs to be fully funded in pilot programs and a city-wide roll-out as soon as possible. We also need to fix an apparently broken 911 system so that the MACRO strategy is successful in interrupting armed police response. 911 is the default number for the most problematic calls that initiate inappropriate police responses to non-criminal situations. We also need to center impacted people in the training and hiring of crisis intervention specialists, just as has been done with the most successful re-entry programs that are peer-based. These must be good union jobs, should be drawn from impacted communities and not be the province of volunteers, non-profit-level wages or clinical specialists. We need radical re-allocation and restructuring of our 911 response system and strategies that are 24/7, fully staffed by appropriate crisis-intervention teams, data-driven and piloted with broad community input to interrupt the current 911 response system that produces so many poor outcomes.

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    Tracey Corder about 4 years ago

    Over 30 years of investing in criminalization and divesting from our social safety net has shown that the safest communities are those that have the resources they need to thrive. Reducing the money spent on policing is both a budgetary and moral imperative. We see from the survey done by APTP that when community is given options beyond policing and criminalization that we can redefine public safety in a way that restorative and holistic. I support this resolution. Defund OPD, invest in true public safety.

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    Adria Orr about 4 years ago

    I am a resident of District 2 and I support this resolution - particularly the piece of creating an avenue for engagement with community stakeholders who have been directly affected by police violence. They should have the platform and to direct this conversation most out of anyone.

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    Kristin Dwelley about 4 years ago

    I am a constituent of district 4 and I strongly support the creation of a Reimagining Public Safety Task Force. I hope that the community organizations that have already done a lot of work in this area, such as the Ella Baker Center, will be included in the process.

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    Amy Dinh about 4 years ago

    I am a resident of district 1 and fully support this resolution. I want to see Oakland embrace a culture of prevention and wellness, instead of one of enforcement and punishment, and demonstrate this commitment through its budget and policies. The way forward must include a reimagining of public safety that doesn't rely so heavily on criminalization and police violence, which disproportionately harm the BIPOC residents of Oakland.

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    Claire Kostohryz about 4 years ago

    As a resident of District 1 I support this. The Mayor needs to listen to the communities that have been impacted by police violence.

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    Luke Jensen about 4 years ago

    As a resident of district 3, I strongly support this resolution. OPD is a bloated institution that is tasked with responding to problems that it isn't equipped to solve. We should reallocate that money into social services that address the root causes of crime and which know how to deal with issues like mental health, drug addiction, and homelessness. We need a task force of community leaders to determine the best way to reallocate this money.

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    Layla Cooper about 4 years ago

    I am a resident of D2 and would like to voice my strong support for this step towards defunding OPD and investing in real community safety, accountability and transparency. The time for these changes in long overdue.Thank you councilmember Bas listening to your constituents and your leadership.

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    Ben Blackshear about 4 years ago

    As a resident of district 2, I strongly support this measure and the defunding of the OPD and redirection of the funds to uplifting community programs. Money spent to criminalize, imprison, and brutalize community members whom are disproportionately black and brown people needs to be spent where it will benefit these people. Mental health, schools, anti-violence, housing, parks, etc. We can't wait any longer to do better for the people of Oakland.

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    Max Bittman about 4 years ago

    I live in District 1 and I strongly support taking stand on making real and significant divestments from OPD's budget and moving them to programs that make our community more safe.

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    ELIZABETH THAI about 4 years ago

    As a resident of district 3, I strongly support the defunding of the OPD and redirection of the funds to uplifting community programs. Money spent to criminalize, imprison, and brutalize community members whom are disproportionately black and brown people needs to be spent where it will benefit these people. Mental health, schools, anti-violence, housing, parks, etc. We can't wait any longer to do better for the people of Oakland.

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    Anne Spevack about 4 years ago

    I am a resident of D1 and support the creation of the reimagining public safety task force. APTP's survey found that Oaklanders agree OPD needs to be defunded and housing, healthcare, and social services need to be funded instead, along with replacement public safety services. We need a comprehensive plan that addresses the needs and safety of Oaklanders without the violence and oppression that is inherent in police forces.

    Additionally, I ask that you take action to ensure the task force members are community members most impacted by over policing and police violence, and not members or former members of OPD. OPD already has an outsize platform with the opportunity to speak directly to the Council and Commissioners at meetings and to the public through press conferences. Community voices have not been heard adequately throughout the history of our city, and this is an opportunity to right that wrong.

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    Ariel Appel about 4 years ago

    I live in district 1. Housing keeps us safe, not the police. Expanding protections for renters and providing more security and stability to low income and affordable housing to Oakland residents is what we need. NOT police. Experts warn of a tsunami of evictions due to COVID-19 - how will an expanded budget for policing mitigate this crisis?. Like the pandemic and police violence, communities of color will bear the brunt of this housing crisis. City Council must Defund OPD by adopting Kaplan/Bas's cuts of at least an additional 11.4M and reimagine public safety. They must also extend the Eviction Moratorium until at least the end of the local state of emergency, pass the Tenant Protection Upgrades, and protect workers by passing the Right to Recall ordinance.

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    Jesse Squires about 4 years ago

    I live in District 1 and I strongly support continued divestment from OPD and all law enforcement in our community. OPD does NOT keep us safe. We must reimagine public safety and start funding community health and well being. We must address low wages and excessively high rents, we must fund mental health initiatives and public schools. Invest in community, not incarceration!

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    Steff Wallace about 4 years ago

    I am an Oakland resident and I support this resolution. We need to cut spending on OPD and invest in social and support services, healthcare, schools, and housing. People who live in the community know what's best for their community and should have a voice in directing funds where they are most needed.