Mayor Libby Schaaf Provides Update on Nationwide Search for Permanent Police Chief
OAKLAND, CA — As part of a commitment to transparency in the process, the City of Oakland is providing this update on its ongoing nationwide search for a permanent Police Chief of the Oakland Police Department (OPD).
“To ensure that this recruitment process is successful we have a responsibility to move forward in a manner that is both transparent and community driven,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf. “It is essential that the public has a genuine opportunity to develop the roadmap for how they expect the Police Department to move forward under new leadership and that they are kept abreast of the process at each key step.”
The formal period to submit an application for consideration closed on Friday, November 11, 2016.
The City of Oakland will begin conducting interviews with select candidates in December. Per the Mayor’s commitment, two community members will serve on the advisory hiring panel. The Mayor’s selection of these two community members is informed by the results of a community-wide survey that ran from early September through October, as well as the 10 community forums with adult and youth from across Oakland.
Click here to watch a brief video from the Youth Forums at Castlemont and McClymonds high schools.
The initial findings of the survey have been compiled and are available here. The online survey was posted on the City’s website, and shared through other social media outlets and through the distribution of 10,000 multi-lingual brochures at the City’s libraries and recreation centers. In an effort to provide respondents with some flexibility in completing the survey, most questions allowed for written comments or sought written responses as the answer. The survey was also available on the City’s search firm Ralph Anderson & Associates’ website between August 29, 2016 and November 2, 2016.
In addition to this extensive outreach, Oaklanders also had the opportunity to express their points of view at regularly scheduled meetings of the Community Policing Advisory Board, the Citizens’ Police Review Board, and the Safety and Services Oversight Committee. Each of these components sought to give the selection committee and the next Chief of Police maximum stakeholder input.
Residents who would still like to offer feedback or suggestions for the Mayor’s selection of the two community members for the hiring panel may email: opdchiefrecruitment@oaklandca.gov or call: 510-238-3600 by Friday, November 18, 2016.
General community input will be considered throughout the entire process, right up to the appointment of the new Police Chief. The City of Oakland will continue to be update residents at key milestones in this process.
To learn more, please visit the Police Chief Recruitment page on the City website: http://bit.ly/2bWAU1M
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Media Contact:
Erica Terry Derryck
(510) 238-7072