Full Notification

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2012

Oakland, CA – On Thursday, October 18th, the City of Oakland took an important step to address the serious violence that has long plagued our city: the official launch of Oakland’s Operation Ceasefire—an evidence-based strategy designed to significantly reduce gang and group related homicides and non-fatal shootings in Oakland in the near term. For the first time in the history of Oakland Ceasefire, there was 100% attendance by those targeted for the call-in meeting. Oakland Ceasefire is a working partnership of Mayor Jean Quan’s Office; the Oakland Police Department; clergy leaders; community organizations; Alameda County Probation; Alameda County District Attorney's Office; State Parole; federal law enforcement agencies; social service providers; Measure Y; and the California Partnership for Safe Communities. Oakland joins a number of other California cities, and dozens across the country, also implementing Ceasefire.

Oakland Ceasefire is based on a careful analysis of what is driving violence in Oakland. More than 60% of all homicides in the city this year are concentrated in East Oakland, so the strategy started there on Thursday. The violence in East Oakland is driven by a very small population of people – less than 1% of the population – involved in drug crews, gangs, and other street groups. Ceasefire directly focuses on the individuals engaged in this behavior. The goals of Ceasefire are: (1) to reduce homicides and shootings (2) reduce recidivism among participants and (3) improve police-community relationships.

“The people of Oakland deserve to be safe,” said Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan. “We want to reduce violence in a way that enhances community trust in police, provides a leadership role for the communities most affected by violence, and limits the arrest and incarceration of the young men and women of this city.”

“Oakland Ceasefire sets and enforces clear and certain consequences for violence,” said Mayor Jean Quan. “Ceasefire seeks to combine the best of community energies, social services and strategic law enforcement in a way that will reduce violence far more effectively than these entities operating alone.”

The Oakland Ceasefire partnership met with members of actively violent groups in East Oakland. Community members told them that their lives matter and stressed that the violence must stop. They were informed that future violence will bring heightened local, state, and federal attention to entire groups for all crimes they are committing. They were offered specially tailored help through Measure Y. National experience indicates that it may take several rounds of these meetings, and follow through on services, outreach and enforcement, before violence declines. However, as these core messages take hold, the community can become much safer, fewer people go to prison, many group and gang members improve their lives and better relationships are forged between the community and the police.