Moving Oakland residents to the center of policymaking: A study to inform a new police use-of-force policy
Raheem — the independent service for reporting police — is conducting a three-month study of the experiences and perspectives of Oakland residents towards the use of force by police in their city. The study will end on September 30th and was authorized by Oakland’s Police Commission, the group of residents appointed by the mayor and city council to oversee the Oakland Police Department. Raheem will use the results of the study to put forward policy recommendations to the Commission so that it can rewrite the official policy governing the use of force by the Oakland Police Department. This study will support the Commission’s goal of community-driven oversight by putting the experiences and concerns of residents at the center of the policymaking process.
Why this study is needed
Oakland residents had about 750,000 interactions with police last year. Yet, we know little about those experiences because, according to the US Department of Justice statistics, 95% of people who experience police violence never report it (Police Behavior during Traffic and Street Stops, US DoJ).
The process of filing a complaint is unnecessarily difficult and often intimidating, according to Human Rights Watch. Most police departments require residents to file in-person at the police station, during business hours, and within 90 days. That’s nearly impossible for most working Americans. People who have been directly impacted by police need a platform to influence the policies that govern police use of force and other police practices.
Methods
The study will include multiple research tools:
- A survey on Oakland residents’ experiences with police use of force.
- Reports by residents of specific encounters they’ve had with police.
- Interviews with selected respondents.
Take the survey
https://raheem.org/ca/oakland/use-of-force/survey/
Press
About the Police Commission
The purpose of the Police Commission is to oversee the Oakland Police Department’s policies, practices, and customs to meet national standards of constitutional policing and to oversee the Community Police Review Agency, which investigates police misconduct and recommends discipline.
The Police Commission has seven regular and two alternate members, enabled by Measure LL. All commissioners are Oakland residents, serve in a volunteer capacity, and have no ties to police. Website →
About Raheem
Raheem is the independent online service for reporting police in the United States. We are a national nonprofit based in Oakland, CA, with a team of mostly Black data scientists, policy experts, and organizers working to end police terror against Black people. We aim to make police behavior visible and accountable by leveraging reports to advance policies that reflect the whole of a community.
When you report police to Raheem, we will connect you to a free lawyer, file a complaint against the officer, and unite you with a local advocacy group — moving you from a victim of violence to an advocate for accountability. Finally, we use your report — along with thousands of others — to advance policies that reflect your lived experiences. These policies typically aim to shrink the role of police and invest in your community. Partners in our work include community-run oversight structures, public defenders, and advocacy organizations. Learn more.
About the Advisory Council
Raheem has established the Oakland Advisory Council made up of eight extraordinary local Black and Brown-led organizations. The purpose of the Advisory Council is to keep Raheem accountable and connected to the community as well as influence our policy recommendations.
The Advisory Council will meet the following dates.
→ July 8, 2020
→ August 5, 2020
→ Septemeber 2, 2020
James Burch, co-chair · Anti Police-Terror Project
James Burch is the Policy Director for the Anti Police-Terror Project, an all-volunteer organization that seeks to end police violence in Black and Brown communities. He began his journey in 2007 at the Southern Center for Human Rights, where he investigated human rights conditions in GA and AL prisons, jails, and court systems. James left the SCHR in 2009 to study civil rights law at the Georgetown University Law Center. After graduating, James moved to the Bay Area, where he worked with the Frisco 500 before joining APTP’s Black Leadership Committee and assuming the role of Policy Director. In 2018, James served as Policy Coordinator for the Cat Brooks for Oakland Mayoral Campaign. In 2019, James was hired as the Policy Director for St. James Infirmary, a peer-based occupational health and safety clinic for sex workers of all genders. James left St. James Infirmary in 2020 and now devotes his time to the Anti Police-Terror Project.
Isha Rosemond · MISSSEY
Isha is a transnational anti-fascist. She’s done work around the world that centers the voices and needs of black youth. In Oakland, she uses her career at MISSSEY to empower survivors of exploitation to leverage their voices, skills, and experiences in policymaking rooms. Isha is an artist, connector, and divinely led by her ancestors.
Carolina Martin Ramos, Esq. · Centro Legal de la Raza
Carolina Martin Ramos is the Director of Programs & Advocacy at Centro Legal de la Raza in Oakland, CA. She is a human rights and immigration attorney with years of experience in nonprofit organizations, government, and private practice. Carolina has worked within social justice movements as an immigration attorney, public defender, performing artist, teacher, and activist in California, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, and Guatemala. Carolina has participated in social movements since she was a young person in the San Francisco Mission District in the 1980s and 1990s and engaged in artivism with queer POC to challenge racism, homophobia, police brutality, and government response to the AIDS crisis. Carolina is known as a fierce advocate for migrants, indigenous peoples, LGBTQ migrants, and racial equity. She has fought to promote the human and civil rights of these communities in every position she has held. Carolina believes her most valuable strengths come from her experience as a Mexican Mestiza woman with kinship ties to tribal nations in the U.S. and Mexico and growing up in a mixed-status family. Carolina serves with cultural humility and brings authenticity and corazón to her work.
John Vasquez · Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice
J. Vasquez is the lead participatory defense coordinator at CURYJ, where he empowers people facing charges, their families, and communities to positively impact the outcome of court cases. At 16, J was tried in adult court and sentenced to 31 years to life. During 25 years of confinement, J earned six associate degrees with honors and created a curriculum to help his peers make constructive changes. J is currently a senior at SFSU, where he is majoring in sociology and minoring in criminal justice. J is also a Willie L. Brown Jr. Fellowship alumnus and former intern of SF Supervisor Shamann Walton, where he staffed the close juvenile hall working group.
Elisa Cecaci · The East Oakland Collective
Elisa Cecaci is a 3rd generation Oakland native, career nanny, mother, wife & community activist. Elisa first was exposed to activism in grade school when her parents were actively involved in OCO (Oakland Community Organization). In high school, Elisa got involved with Ceasar Chavez’s “Grapes of Wrath” boycott, speaking out against the dangers of pesticides for farmworkers. Since 2017 Elisa has been involved with The East Oakland Collective, an org that is advocating for Oakland’s unhoused community. As an active EOC member, Elisa is a part of the Rapid Response Team, helping provide individual support with urgent needs. Elisa serves as a caravan ambassador, bringing volunteers into curbside communities to offer food, hygiene kits & face to face engagement during bi-monthly “Feed The Hood” events. Elisa also sits on the planning committee for “Feed The Hood.” Elisa is committed to remaining active in her East Oakland community in order to serve & support those most marginalized.
John Jones III · Just Cities
John Jones III is currently on staff for Just Cities as the Director of Community and Political Engagement. As a father of three and third-generation East Oakland resident, John is also a formerly incarcerated advocate seeking to transform his community. After being un-sheltered and unemployed for eighteen-month, John became involved in community organizing and advocacy to empower himself and others by utilizing his personal story of pain, trauma, faith, and transformation to inspire young people, as well as fight for policy change.
Allyssa Victory, co-chair · ACLU Foundation of NorCal
Allyssa Victory is a Criminal Justice/Police Practices Attorney at the ACLU of Northern California. In this capacity, Allyssa focuses on police reform as well as on law enforcement accountability and oversight. Allyssa is a lifelong Oaklander with a long record of organizing, beginning in high school with educational equity and youth justice. Allyssa is a graduate of UC San Diego, where she obtained her bachelor’s in Ethnic Studies with Honors and a minor in African American studies. Allyssa earned her law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law with a concentration in Government Law. Allyssa worked on staff with the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal to publish a student note on prosecutorial discretion and to host two symposiums: one on police reform and community oversight and the other on the American Bar Association’s mental health standards in criminal justice. Allyssa also serves as community staff for the Afrikan Black Coalition, provides workers’ rights counsel to local labor, is a California Bar exam tutor, and is an advisory board member of the newly created East Bay Urban Alliance, which is currently piloting a re-entry program with Alameda County.
Angelo Sandoval · The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Angelo Isaac Sandoval is a Senior Organizer and Advocate at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. He works to empower low-income communities of color to dismantle the institutional racism that propagates cycles violence, substance abuse, and poverty. Angelo was born in San Francisco. As the first in his family to graduate from high school, Angelo studied Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with a focus on Political Theory and American Government. He completed his Master in Public Affairs at Princeton University with an emphasis on Domestic Policy. He received his law degree from the University of California, Hastings School of law, where he pursued a concentration in Social Justice.
NOTE: The Advisory Council seeks two additional members — one person who identifies as transgender and another who identifies as a person living with a disability. If you are a part of either community and would like to serve as a member of the Advisory Council, email us at hello@raheem.org.
Take the survey
Join the campaign to end police terror at www.raheem.org/endpoliceterror
