Oakland Officials - ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! Its about our SAFETY!

GLNN (Gaskill-Lowell Neighborhood Network)and West Street Watch have initiated a grassroots community driven campaign to demand that Mayor Brown and City Council re-prioritize their goals immediately to address the fact that Oakland citizens are not safe on our streets and in our homes.

It is imperative that the City of Oakland address the needs of our community and immediately confront the persistent shortage of available officers on the street. Compared to other major US cities, the ratio of police officers to residents in Oakland is critically and unacceptably low (See US Department of Justice Report at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pdlc00.pdf). As of January 2nd 2006, Oakland had 683 police officers employed which equals 16 officers per 10,000 residents (down from 734 when Measure Y was written). Most major cities of our size have between 31 63 officers per 10,000 residents.

This petition will culminate into a citizen protest at Oakland City Hall on Tuesday March 7th from 6PM 9PM. PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDERS AND PLAN TO ATTEND. BRING YOUR NEIGHBORS AND SIGNS WITH OUR UNITED MESSAGE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!! Its about our safety. Please come even if you cannot arrive by 6PM!


PLEASE READ, SIGN AND FORWARD THIS PETITION TO OTHER OAKLAND RESIDENTS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, HOME AND BUSINESS OWNERS.



PETITION TEXT:

Dear Mayor Brown and Oakland City Council:

As citizens of Oakland, the undersigned have personally witnessed or experienced the chronic shortage of police officers in our neighborhoods. The Oakland Police Department, faced with no other options, is regularly forced to participate in patrol diversions and inadequate police coverage at the cost of our families safety.

We refuse to participate in a political shell game in which there are winners and losers. It is neither acceptable nor ethical that the citizens of one Police Service Area must fight to maintain their minimal and precarious safety while knowing they are depriving the citizens of another PSA the resources that they require to address similarly dangerous situations.

It is imperative the City of Oakland address the needs of our community and immediately confront the persistent shortage of available officers on the street.

The Signers of this petition are no longer willing to accept the state of our understaffed Police Department. Many of us have contributed to Community Policing involvement in many ways, at times at personal risk. The Oakland Police Department and our dedicated officers are outstanding in how they work with and listen to the citizens of Oakland.

The top priority of any government is the safety of its citizens. Safety is a right, not a privilege.

Calling for future research and studies does not ease our concerns, nor make our neighborhoods safer today.

The responsibility of finding a real solution rests with our City Officials, and the time is now.