Oakland Police Host Summit to Fight Gang Violence
OAKLAND, Calif. (KCBS) - The Oakland Police Department is partnering with other law enforcement agencies in a two-day summit focused on fighting gang violence in the city.
Police spokesman Jeff Thomason said the department's goal at the summit, which began this morning, is to have federal and state agencies help it address gang problems in Oakland.
Thomason said Oakland wanted to collaborate with state and federal agencies in any event, but the need to do so has increased with the city's recent decision to lay off 80 police officers to help it balance its budget.
He said Oakland police have been inspired by the Salinas Police Department's success in working with other agencies to target and dismantle gangs in their city.
"We're talking to Salinas to see how they did it," Thomason said.
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Among the participants in the summit are the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.
Also participating are street outreach workers, crisis response groups, and adult and juvenile reentry service providers.
Among the speakers at the summit's opening session today were U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley, Oakland Police Chief Anthony Batts, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and Paul Seave, the director of the Governor's Office of Gang and Youth Policy.
Batts said in a statement he released before the summit, "Our strategy for reducing violent crime is to have a laser focus on the dangerous gangs who cause the most destruction in our community."
Dellums said, "Too many of our young people are dying as a result of gang violence. We understand that public safety is not only a matter of enforcement, but in conjunction with prevention and intervention, we can positively impact the lives of youth, the formerly incarcerated and those involved in gang activity."
The summit, which is closed to the public, is being held at the Oakland Zoo in the city's hills.
