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Let’s Give Chief Batts a Fair Chance
[November 19, 2009]


This morning I attended the Vice Mayor’s Movers and Shakers Breakfast because our newly installed Chief Batts was to be the keynote speaker.  True to recent form, Batts mesmerized the audience with his personalized contact style.  He dismisses the microphone and podium, and engages listeners in a walk-around.
Yes, he said what we all wanted to hear, and said it well, and I particularly enjoyed some tidbits of his monologue that were the antithesis of what we heard from the previous administration.. 

  1.  He said the O.P.D. was “broken.”  Hello….  This is not to say that the personnel were broken, but rather that the organization was dysfunctional.  I told Mayor Dellums and Chief Tucker [and readers of my essays] that same thing many times.
  2. Batts came up with the revelation that O.P.D. is the answer to Oakland’s economic future.
  3. He said that he wanted to “bring back the pride and traditions of O.P.D.”  He said that he asked sworn and non-sworn personnel many times in recent days what they thought of their police department, and to a person the response was an expansive chest pronouncing pride in the O.P.D.

Chief Batts also said some things I felt were rather naïve, and he should soon have an awakening.

  1.  He said O.P.D. officers were the highest paid while being the worst at fighting crime.  Again, it is the method of police organization that should be held responsible for crime fighting success or failure.  Batts might want to see my earlier essays that demonstrate other agencies that paid their officers more but had which had substantially lower overall police budgets.
  2. He said our officers were overworked and spread too thin.  “The workload and demand is so high we can’t get to calls.”  Perhaps he should read a few of my essays where I recount that we answered and investigated many more calls/crimes and arrested many more criminals with far fewer cops [less than 650].  Also, he should note that we have more cops per capita than any comparable police department in California [exclude the two large tourist and convention cities LA and SF].
  3.  He talked about how he lowered the crime rate in Long Beach.  According to the FBI UCR, there were 3,413 violent crimes in Chief Batts’ first term in office there [2001].  These rose to a high of 3,755 (+10%) in his third year, and dropped back to 3,407 (+/- 0%) in his last full year 2008.

I know Oakland, and Oakland is no Long Beach.  For those who feel Long Beach and Oakland have much in common, I offer the following realities:

  1.  According to the US Census’ latest statistics [2008], Oakland has a population of 365,875 and Long Beach has 470,932.  I know Chief Batts mentioned Oakland has 420,000, and that others in our government believe this, but demographic facts indicate we have had a significant exodus of population.  Besides, anyone who feels Oakland wasn’t accurately counted should note that Long Beach was counted with the same methodology.
  2. The significance of this is that Chief Batts is coming to Oakland where the violent crime rate is 322% higher per capita than in Long Beach!  [216 violent crimes per 10,000 people vs. 67]
  3.  As for O.P.D. being “too thin,” note that Long Beach has 963 cops, or 204 cops per 100,000 population.  I know our numbers are sliding, but at 837 we had 229 cops, or 12% more than Long Beach.  At 790, our recent estimate, we now have 216 – still more.  At 739, without Measure Y, we would have 202.  After 1 ½ years attrition, we may get down to about 650 cops – or 178 cops per 100,000.

The point is that Oakland has seen many knights on white horses come riding into town.  Anthony Batts’ armor shines so much that even I am impressed by his presentations, and hopeful and optimistic that he can be a catalyst for change.  However, don’t set your expectations on all the hype.  Rather, give him a chance, but hold his feet to the fire.  He’s starting out with blazing energy and a charming glibness.

ronoz