Public safety updates: a look ahead to 2026
A list of several public safety-related issues coming up in the new year.
This article is reposted from the excellent Rajni Mandal’s Public Safety Updates. Subscribe to receive Rajni’s updates directly.
Happy New Year! As we look towards new beginnings and better outcomes, here are things that I’ll be following in 2026:
Federal oversight of Oakland Police Department
The latest case management conference with Judge William H. Orrick will be held on January 28 at 3pm. Zoom link here, and you can also observe and attend in-person in court.
Federal monitor Robert Warshaw has made his first appearance in Oakland since 2019, and his latest report continued to state the city’s noncompliance:
The city in its status report said that its noncompliance is due to critically low staffing:
Police chief interim appointment, recruitment
Mayor Barbara Lee announced on November 14 her appointment of Interim Chief of Police James Beere.
As of now, the police commission is tasked with finding police chief candidates for the mayor to review. They are finalizing a contract with a recruitment firm.
Per city administrator Jestin Johnson, the hope is to complete the process in less time than the last time around — which was over a year.
Police Commission appointments
The Police Commission Selection Panel has resubmitted Ricardo Garcia-Acosta and Omar Farmer to the city council for reappointment to the commission. Last time, city council rejected both their reappointments, citing deficiencies in the recruitment process.
See this related article:
The selection panel, upon the urging of the Coalition for Police Accountability has resubmitted these same names stating that background checks were not performed. (The assistant city administrator stated that background checks were performed the first time Garcia-Acosta and Farmer applied, but were not performed for the reappointment).
The city attorney released a legal opinion clarifying that council members may replace their selection panel appointees once per calendar year. The mayor has submitted her two appointees, former judge Evelio Grillo and Doug Wong.
Transparency for the Community Police Review Agency
The police commission has signaled that Community Police Review Agency (CPRA) interim director Antonio Lawson will be made permanent, after a year in the interim role.
As of this year, CPRA still does not have a written manual of procedures, training or investigative protocols even though there are plans to transfer over all Internal Affairs investigations.
See this related article:
Office of Inspector General’s function
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) no longer has in-house auditors, and has contracted with an outside firm to conduct police performance audits and generate reports. It is unclear what role the OIG will have in the process going forward.
Oakland Public Safety Planning and Oversight Commission (OPSPOC)’s violence reduction plan
The oversight commission for Measure NN continues to work on their “Community Violence Reduction Plan”.
The commissioners’ questions during meetings reveal that they seem woefully uninformed on how the city government works, including the roles of city council, the city administrator and other city departments.
The majority of their meetings so far have involved city staff and speakers answering committee members’ questions about these basic functions.
See this related article:
Proposed “Oakland Safety and Cleanliness” parcel tax
Ballot language has been submitted for a new parcel tax, the stated objectives of which include improving 911 response times and police patrols. However, it is unclear whether the use of funds, if the parcel tax is approved by Oakland voters, will be restricted or used at city council’s discretion.
See this related article:
I do wish news outlets - and politicians - would stop using the euphemism “parcel” tax. It’s a property tax. Plain & simple.
The Coalition for Police Accountability did not urge the Selection Panel to do anything but preserve their independence from political pressure.