police budget

01 May 2025

Police Overtime Abuse Contributes to Budget Crisis

The City’s budget is in crisis, but the Mayor is asking for more money for policing. Is it justified? Watching Mayor Lurie put together his first big boy budget is like watching a car crash in slow motion. The budget always feels like a car crash at the end, but

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30 Nov 2021

Dishonest ‘Defund’ Messaging is Not Making Oakland Any Safer

If you believe the Oakland Police Department and their union, the city’s rise in crime is a result of a slashed law enforcement budget. They commonly point to “defund” efforts as the bogeyman that draws out and emboldens a criminal element lurking and waiting for an opportune moment when progressive

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10 Apr 2025

Eat, Game, & Sing in San Francisco This Spring!

It’s Springtime in San Francisco, which means it’s time to put your phone on silent for a while and step out into our fair city to sing, eat, and play with the wonderful people and programming on offer. Whether in the flesh or on a live stream, the journalists and

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29 Jun 2021

Why Oakland City Hall Attempted Robbery May Not Prove Need for More Police

If you’re looking for reasons to support a bloated police budget, you may think you got your big ‘gotcha’ moment with Sunday’s story about a security guard stopping an armed robbery of a news crew at Oakland City Hall during an interview with the city’s Department of Violence Prevention head.

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Oakland police on on the streets in riot gear.
22 Jul 2020

Schaaf Disappoints ‘Defund’ Advocates in Tie-Breaking Vote Against OPD Budget Cuts

The world turned its attention to Oakland when Oscar Grant was murdered by a BART police officer in 2009. The Black Lives Matter movement would not formally organize for another four years, but Grant’s death sparked a national dialogue and amplified calls for police reform. In that way, Oakland is

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