Violent crime in Oakland has been rising dramatically in recent months, with rampant shootings and robberies.
To bolster the city’s police manpower, one councilmember, Council President Pro Tem Sheng Thao, is proposing to hire officers with an enticing price tag – $50,000 – to any experienced officer who wants to come work for Oakland.
"We are in a public safety emergency right now," said Thao in a video news conference on Thursday announcing her proposal. "It feels like every day, we experience a new senseless tragedy."
"At the same time, our police force doesn't have the resources to adequately serve our community," she said.
Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong noted this issue in a press conference earlier this week, where he highlighted that the city had now recorded 127 fatalities in the city this year.
"I think it's clear today, as we sit with 676 officers currently at the department, that is currently the smallest staff that we've had in several years," he said. Last year, the department had 740 officers.
Thao, who is running for mayor, said that her plan of offering a $50,000 bonus would "reduce the vacancies in the police department, bring good, experienced officers to Oakland, and keep them in Oakland while saving taxpayers money."
Thao said that she supports the police academy expansion as well, but those take time to produce the capable officers the city needs. Funding allotted for the creation of one of the new academies would instead be allocated to this proposal.
The city would use an independent recruiting agency to search for candidates, who are diverse and have no history of misconduct, she said. They’ll be searching nationwide and locally.
"These officers are what we call 'lateral officers' are not rookies," she said. "Unlike graduates from traditional academies, these officers are already experienced and ready to hit the streets as an active patrol officer."
In order to keep the new hires in the city, any who leave their position before five years have to "pay the city back a prorated remainder of that bonus," she said.
If the officers leave before serving 18 months, they must pay back the entire amount.
The proposal will be presented at the Dec. 7 public safety committee meeting.
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