North Side Oakland

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November 7, 2011 | 5:49 PM | By

Crime rises in area covered by North Oakland injunction

Puck Lo

Opponents of Oakland's gang injunction strategy outside Alameda County Superior Court in October 2010

Oakland’s first gang injunction against 15 alleged members of the North Side Oakland set may have withstood an appeals challenge last week, but it will face renewed scrutiny at the City Council’s Public Safety Committee tomorrow evening. At question will be a new report prepared by Oakland Police regarding the effects of the North Oakland injunction almost a year and a half after it was approved by Alameda County Superior Judge Robert Freedman.

Among the reports findings are the following:

  • Part 1 crimes (murders, shootings, aggravated assaults and robberies) in the “safety zone” covered by the NSO injunction increased following the injunction’s approval in mid-2010 to October 6, 2011. There was one more murder, two more attempted murders, nine more shootings, and 26 more robberies after the injunction’s passage than beforehand.
  • During the same period after mid-2010, arrests in the safety zone fell by 64 percent, from 315 from April 2009 to June 2010 to 112 arrests from June 2010 to October 2011In the report, OPD says the loss of 80 officers in mid-2010 and ongoing staffing issues are most plausible explanation for this drop.
  • After the injunction, crime in the NSO injunction area rose at a rate exceeding the citywide average.
  • Eight of the 15 enjoined NSO members were arrested for crimes following the injunction. Of those, only one was arrested inside the injunction zone. This corroborates with existing research about the “displacement effect” gang injunctions have on crime, pushing offenders to other areas. Continue reading →
FILED UNDER: Police, Gang Injunctions, North Side Oakland, Oakland, Oakland Police Department
May 18, 2011 | 5:51 PM | By

Oakland City Council votes to continue injunctions, with limits

Ali Winston

Fruitvale injunction defendant Ruben Leal addresses the Oakland City Council on May 17, 2011

After six hours of heated, often rancorous debate over Oakland’s gang injunction strategy, the City Council moved to continue with the city’s controversial anti-crime strategy by one vote shortly after midnight Wednesday morning. Councilmembers Larry Reid, Ignacio De La Fuente, Libby Schaaf and Patricia Kernighan voted to continue funding the injunctions, with Nancy Nadel, Desley Brooks and Rebecca Kaplan in opposition. Councilmember Jane Brunner abstained from the vote.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman is expected to decide soon whether or not to approve Oakland’s second gang injunction, which targets 40 alleged Norteños in the Fruitvale.

Around 300 people packed the council chambers and gallery for the meeting, a reflection of the high politicized environment surrounding the. One hundred and fifty-seven people spoke on the issue (224 had initially signed up). Some supporters of the injunction made their voices heard, but the majority of those present opposed the injunction.

Police Chief Anthony Batts and OPD’s entire command staff were present at last night’s hearing — a sharp contrast to the chief’s no-show at a council hearing earlier this month.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Courts, Fruitvale, gang injunctoins, Nortenos, North Oakland, North Side Oakland, Oakland, Oakland City Council, Oakland Police Department
March 1, 2011 | 11:44 AM | By

Gang injunctions roil Oakland politics

Puck Lo

Opponents of Oakland's gang injunction strategy outside Alameda County Superior Court in October 2010

The city of Oakland is currently defending a controversial effort to reduce gang violence. Alameda County Judge Robert Freedman is reviewing a proposed gang injunction by City Attorney John Russo that would restrict the movement and associations of 40 alleged Norteño gang members in the Fruitvale District. Russo and Police Chief Anthony Batts claim the injunction will reduce gang-related crime in the area.

But local activists say it’s targeting the wrong people, will lead to increased police harassment and only serve to displace crime. I sat down yesterday with our Executive Editor Ben Trefny to discuss the matter on last night’s Crosscurrents.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Fruitvale, Gang Injunctions, Nortenos, North Oakland, North Side Oakland, Oakland, Oakland Police Department
February 23, 2011 | 1:33 PM | By

Oakland injunctions get council hearing, legislators pass on action

rezlab

Oakland’s controversial gang injunctions got a long-awaiting airing at last night’s session of the City Council’s Public Safety Committee. After three and a half hours of presentations by city officials, followed by comments from a room packed to the rafted with both supporters and opponents, the councilmembers deadlocked on whether — and how — to take action.

The question of what exactly City Council thinks of gang injunctions came to light during recent hearings before  Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman about a proposed  injunction against 40 alleged Norteños in Fruitvale. Judge Freedman said he would only consider the legal issues immediately at hand, and that he expects elected officials to set Oakland’s public safety policy (The Norteño case will resume at 2 PM today at the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse at 1225 Fallon Street, Department 1).

The question of just what that policy should be dominated last night’s hearing. Expressing concern that her constituents in West Oakland mIGHT be the target of future injunctions, District 3 Councilmember Nancy Nadel lambasted the North Side Oakland and Fruitvale injunctions as “divisive crap” and a drain on limited city resources. Expressing concern that her constituents in West Oakland might be the target of future injunctions, Nadel said Oakland has more pressing worries than gangs.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Politics, Fruitvale, Gang Injunctions, North Side Oakland, Oakland, Oakland City Council, Oakland Police Department, Public Safety Committee
October 15, 2010 | 11:04 AM | By

North Oakland injunction left intact; may be lifted in a year’s time

Puck Lo

North Oakland resident Margaret White speaks at Thursday's protest in front of the Alameda County Courthouse

A gang injunction against 15 alleged members of the North Side Oakland gang was upheld at a status conference yesterday in front of Alameda County Judge Robert Freedman. A vocal demonstration of about 80 people before the hearing and an amicus brief filed by the Stop the Injunction Coalition detailing the injunction’s impact on North Oakland residents did not convince Freedman that there has been any evidence of “untoward intrusion into the lives of citizens.”

Attorneys representing City Attorney John Russo’s office maintained that the injunction is working to date because the fifteen named individuals have been keeping a low profile and have not violated the injunction. Oakland officials have changed their position on whether the injunction is working a number of times. In response to a spike in North Oakland crime this summer, the City Attorney claimed it was too early to determine whether the injunction was working. At Wednesday’s announcement of a proposed gang injunction against the Nortenos, Police Chief Anthony Batts asserted the North Oakland injunction has been effective in controlling criminal activity. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Community, Courts, Gang injunction, John Russo, Judge Robert Freedman, North Oakland, North Side Oakland, Oakland, Oakland City Attorney, Oakland Police Department
October 13, 2010 | 5:03 PM | By

The Bay Area’s gang injunctions explained

Oakland City Attorney's Office

Oakland's latest gang injunction covers part of the Fruitvale district.

Today, Oakland City Attorney John Russo announced he’ll file a new gang injunction targeting the Norteño Street gang in the Fruitvale neighborhood.

OAKLAND CITY ATTORNEY JOHN RUSSO: The Norteños have been one of the most destructive vicious and sociopathic gangs in Oakland, not just for years, but literally for generations.

Gang injunctions are increasingly being used to combat crime. Many law enforcement officials support their use, like Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts:

OAKLAND POLICE CHIEF ANTHONY BATTS: The purpose of an injunction is to put on notice the gang members or people in the community who are causing so much harm and to allow good people who live in those neighborhoods to come back and reclaim their civil rights and liberties and go out in public in a safe manner.

The gang injunction is a civil lawsuit introduced in California in the mid-1980s that restricts the activities of alleged gang members in certain neighborhoods. In the past three decades, their use has spread across California, including the Bay Area.

On September 30, a judge approved San Francisco’s fourth injunction, targeting two gangs in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood. And tomorrow, an Alameda Superior Court judge will review the implementation of Oakland’s first gang injunction, five months after it was approved.

KALW’s Ali Winston has been reporting on gang injunctions in Oakland and San Francisco for the past few months. He explains the history of gang injunctions in California and the Bay Area, and how they are being used today.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Community, Courts, Police, Dennis Herrera, District 10, East Oakland, Fruitvale, Gang Injunctions, John Russo, Malia Cohen, Mikail Ali, Mission District, Nortenos, North Oakland, North Side Oakland, Oakland, Oakland Police, San Francisco, San Francisco Police, Visitacion Valley, Western Addition