Should Oakland keep its gunshot detection system?
Also: DA Price's missed deadlines and a $25K shakedown, Mercury News backs Thao's recall, 7 actions to save Oakland $200M/year
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Story of the week
This Tuesday, Oakland City Council will vote whether to renew its ShotSpotter contract, the technology that uses acoustic sensors across the city to detect the location of a gunshot within 60 seconds of the shot being fired.
Oakland has been using ShotSpotter since 2006. The city’s contract expired earlier this year, and a 3-year extension would cost $2.5M.
What’s the issue: Cities across America have been debating the technology’s effectiveness in preventing gun violence.
Police departments, including OPD, are among the strongest advocates, saying it’s critical to providing fast medical attention for gunshot victims.
Critics would rather spend the, albeit relatively modest, funds on community-led efforts that prevent shootings, such as housing and mental health programs.
Track record: In 2023, ShotSpotter alerted Oakland police to 8,318 gunshot incidents, 99% of which were not reported to 911, meaning OPD would not have otherwise known about them.
It led officers to 199 shootings, including 29 homicides and 170 gunshot injuries. Of those 170 injuries, it’s very possible some of them would have resulted in deaths if police were not alerted in time.
OPD also relies on SpotShotter to gather data on where gun violence is most prevalent, often because residents and bystanders are reluctant to report gun crimes in fear or retaliation.
Breaking party lines: Interestingly, the ShotSpotter debate has superseded the usual alliances within city council, highlighting the complicated dynamic around funding public safety.
Treva Reid (D7) and Rebecca Kaplan (At-Large), along with City Administrator Jestin Johnson, all support the continued use of ShotSpotter.
Carroll Fife (D3) and Janani Ramachandran (D4) oppose the contract renewal, either because they say it doesn’t work (Fife) or the money should be put elsewhere (Ramachandran).
The Public Safety Committee voted 2-1 in support of the extension (Fife left right before the vote), and it will go to the full council for approval on October 15.
Bottom line: While ShotSpotter may not be perfect, it’s a relatively small cost for an important deterrent for gun crime. In a city where criminals laugh in the face of consequences, it’s a useful tool to aid an understaffed police force.
Parting thought: In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson recently overruled city council and ended the city’s ShotSpotter contract. After just two weeks, Chicago is seeing the consequences and already feeling widespread pressure to reinstate the system.
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In other news…
District Attorney Pamela Price has reportedly missed critical deadlines to charge 1,000 misdemeanor cases, meaning all those suspects walk free without punishment or prosecution. Price’s office blamed a backlog of cases and the previous administration for not making the deadlines. (SF Chronicle)
Claims were brought against DA Pamela Price for offering $25K to a local political operative involved in an FBI political corruption investigation. After the alleged offer was rebuffed, Price charged the person with felony grand theft. (Mercury News)
With less than a month to the election, the Mercury News published its recommendation to recall Mayor Sheng Thao, saying “on crime and the city budget, it’s hard to ignore how inept she has been in her nearly two years in office.” (Mercury News)
Gov. Newsom is awarding $131M to cities and counties that are seriously addressing homeless encampments. This money comes with strings attached, including stricter accountability measures. Notably, Oakland was not awarded any grant money. (KTVU)
With Oakland still facing a $100M/year structural budget deficit, Oakland Report published a series of well-researched alternatives to balance the budget that “don’t involve wage give-backs, nor one-time fire sale of major assets, nor wild risk taking that could put the city in bankruptcy within a year.” (Oakland Report)
The story also includes a recording of Nikki Bas at a recent budget meeting, who blamed Oakland’s budget problems on 46-year-old Prop 13, the past mayor’s decisions, and even capitalism itself.
Mayor Thao’s plan to sell the Oakland Coliseum continued to make headlines. Here’s the latest to get caught up:
Empower Oakland’s piece on the timeline of how the Coliseum deal transpired and how we got here
SF Chronicle story which includes an interview with Empower Oakland founder Loren Taylor
Oakland Proud
Oakland native Serena Griffin was honored by First Lady Jill Biden at the second annual Girls Leading Change event in Washington, D.C. Griffin was among 10 other young women recognized for “shaping a brighter future” in their communities. As a high school student, Griffin founded EmpowHer Poets, which provides writing workshops for young girls of color.
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Really love the work you do here but I think it’s worth looking into shot spotter and whether it’s actually an effective tool, and their leadership, when pressed on this, tends to go on the attack rather than genuinely consider and respond to criticism. For example, Greg is by no means a “woke liberal” and is in fact probably would still be a Republican but for the MAGA of it all, but he does care deeply about criminal justice and his opinion of shot spotter is… not high.
https://x.com/greg_doucette/status/1511826946790993927?s=46&t=KE0NHk0hHXSLMlmZ0Y6wew
Yes, Vision Quilt believes gunshot detection should be renewed!