Oakland:Robbery Capital of America?

Recently, two events have occurred that will directly affect Oakland's future. First, Oakland Chief of Police, Howard Jordan, announced his retirement. Only two days later, his replacement, Interim Oakland Police Chief, Anthony Toribio, announced that he too would be leaving the position. Second, came shocking, yet unsurprising news that Oakland was designated as the “Robbery Capital of America”, with a reported 4,338 robberies last year alone. Both events are a jarring reminder of Oakland’s reputation as a dangerous city with an uncertain future. This report shined a spotlight on one of the city's biggest problems: our rising crime rate and an understaffed police force. While Oakland is gaining attention for its bustling restaurant scene, its growing housing market, and its nightlife, our crime rate is also posing a direct threat to our employment rate and opportunities for economic growth and recovery.Our reputation as a dangerous city is a deterrent to corporations and entrepreneurs that would otherwise consider moving and growing their business in Oakland.    Why is Oakland’s crime rate continuing to grow year after year, and what can we as a community do about it? There is a direct link between unemployment and crime in Oakland. Any hope for change relies on our willingness to get to the root of the problem in order to better our reputation as a safe place to do business, thus creating more job opportunities for our community.  It also relies on the fate of our police force and the void left by Jordan’s retirement. The question that many Oakland residents are asking themselves in light of this news is: Does the resignation of Howard Jordan portend a federal receivership, risking a huge financial impact on the city, along with the loss of local control over the police force?While this remains a possibility, we are also faced with the option of implementing a new Chief of Police.  But who does Oakland need that person to be? How do we need them to operate?  What is certain is that we need a world class leader with great communication skills. A leader that can create, implement, and execute a plan. One who will develop metrics by which we can measure success and communicate with both elected officials and the people of Oakland so we may bring an end to the revolving door of police chiefs in our city.  As a city, we need to focus on more than increasing the rank and file; instead, a focus on creating jobs and promoting education programs will create meaningful alternatives for disconnected individuals in our community, breaking the cycle of crime and violence at its roots. Can Oakland get the right Chief of Police who will be an advocate for the community,who will have the confidence of its people? Can this individual create partnerships, connect with the community, and build relationships that will better our faith in what we can achieve as a city and assure us of our safety?As a community, as residents who love the city they live in, we have to ask ourselves: Is there anything the collective community can do to stave off a federal receivership? We must be mindful of the lessons we learned after the State takeover of the Oakland school system, and how long it took our city to recover. While Oakland’s future may be in a fragile limbo state, now is the time for Oakland residents to take a stand and make their voices heard. Now is the time for Oakland residents to get involved in making decisions that will positively affect their community by attending council meetings, writing our legislators and the federal magistrate currently overseeing the police force, and taking back control to ensure the safety of all of Oakland’s citizens.