Bratton Report Revealed, Lists Oakland Police Problems
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – The sudden retirement of Police Chief Howard Jordan on Wednesday derailed plans to release law enforcement expert Bill Bratton's report on cutting crime in Oakland. Despite the canceled announcement, KPIX 5 was able to obtain a copy of the report.
The report (.pdf), prepared by Bratton and his team of law enforcement consultants, was commissioned by the City of Oakland at a cost of $250,000. Bratton previously served as the police chief in Los Angeles and the police commissioner in New York and Boston.
According to the report, the Bratton Group found problems with the department in a number of key areas. Among some of the findings, the report said crime scene investigators are working without direct supervision and are disorganized.
Read The Bratton Report (.pdf)
In addition, the group found problems with the digital photo file system. Officers rarely used the system to find robbery suspects because the system, they said, is extremely slow.
The report also found when officers collect fingerprints from burglary scenes, not much happens because officers rarely compare those fingerprints to those found at other crime scenes.
Also according to the report, the department is too slow to analyze shell casings found at shooting scenes. The report said if this analysis is sped up, detectives would be better able to connect the casings to other violent crimes.
Bratton's report called for the department to have less central control. It said the city should create DIU's or Direct Investigation Units that give district captains more control and much more responsibility to know what is going on in their areas.
The report also called for more surveillance cameras in commercial districts.
Bratton's report comes as FBI data revealed Oakland has the highest robbery rate in the nation, with 12 robberies occurring each day on average in 2012.
Jordan announced his retirement Wednesday after 24 years with the department, citing medical issues. Assistant Chief Anthony Toribio has been named acting chief.
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