Retirement, Disability Further Thinning Oakland Police Officer Ranks
OAKLAND (KCBS) – Attrition continues to thin the ranks of the Oakland Police Department, be it by retirement or disability.
The force has lost 16 officers since the beginning of December. Oakland resident Jeff Collins is embracing a suggestion by former Oakland City Manager Robert Bobb to hire 10 percent more police officers than the authorized limit.
Oakland Top Cop Calls For More Academies As Department Loses Officers
"Because that factor is what we have on disability or other problems when officers are out," he said. "So yeah, we have 613 now, but take away 10 percent and we're down to 552."
The Oakland City Council's finance committee has authorized a police academy for this June.
"That's a step in the right direction but we need a lot more than that," said Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan, who's calling for four academies a year to help the department get ahead.
Jordan said that on average, Oakland loses five police officers per month.
Adding more academies would help the hiring process as on average, it takes a year and a half from hiring to when an officer is available for independent assignment.
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