Oakland Police Chief Hopes Second Try at Reorganization Will Succeed

By Bay City News Service

Oakland police Chief Howard Jordan said Monday that he hopes his department's second attempt at reorganizing into smaller geographical districts will be more successful than its first.

Jordan said the second effort, which began on Saturday, will be phased in gradually, instead of all at once, and will aim to have "the right people in the right jobs." Jordan said his department also will focus more on building better relationships with the community than it has in the past.

The reorganization plan, which was announced several months ago, calls for switching from two large police districts to five districts that Jordan said will be "smaller and more manageable geographic areas."

In the first phase of the plan, East Oakland, which has the highest crime rate in the city, has been divided into two districts, one overseen by Capt. Ersie Joyner and the other by Capt. Steven Tull. The other new districts will be created later this year, Jordan said.

Assistant Chief Anthony Toribio said the captains will manage the day-to-day operations in their districts and oversee officers who respond to emergency calls and other service calls.

Toribio said the captains also will identify neighborhood crime reduction strategies to address crime and other quality of life issues and strengthen the department's partnerships with local communities. He said that will include forming community advisory committees that will consist of religious leaders, neighborhood crime prevention councils, business leaders and others.

The captains will be held accountable to Jordan, Toribio said.

Tull said, "Our core function will be to work with the community and change the way we did business in the past."

Joyner said another priority is "being proactive in reducing crime instead of reactive."

Toribio said, "The idea is to provide the community with a more intimate and personal relationship with high-ranking officers and have clearer communications and better directions for officers."

Jordan said the new reorganization plan was developed by Robert Wasserman, a police consultant who was hired by the city last fall. He said the plan is supported by William Bratton, a police consultant working with Wasserman who formerly headed departments in New York, Los Angeles and Boston.

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