On Tuesday, the Oakley City Council voted 5-0 to approve Oakley Police assistance services with the City of Antioch.
With the approval, it will allow Oakley Police Department officers, upon request and approval, to show up as a presence and deterrent in dedicated “hotspots” within the City of Antioch and conduct proactive enforcement actions.
This is in response to the depleted Antioch Police staffing levels – which Antioch set aside $500k for outside police assistance back in October 2024. Antioch would pay another agency $200 per hour—which is greater than Oakley police overtime, however, it would also go towards wear and tear on vehicles, fuel costs and other costs.
Prior to reaching the city council, the idea for Oakley Police to assist Antioch Police has been in the works for approximately 6-weeks according to Chief Paul Beard. He said the City of Pittsburg has signed off on the agreement while the Kensington Police Chief has presented it to the city manager and city attorney for approval but was unsure of the status.
Councilmember Aaron Meadows confirmed only two other agencies had stepped up to assist given the appearance more agencies were assisting.
Beard said 1 other agency has signed off on it while Kensington has only been presented. Beard did clarify what was shared were the couple of “informal events” which attracted three agencies to those events, but those agencies participating informally have not signed off on an agreement.
“That is interesting because in the beginning it seemed like everyone was willing to help out,” stated Meadows.
According to the Chief, by agreeing to the MOU, it would not impact Oakley police services in Oakley, impact the upcoming school resource program, or any special assignments or internal obligations.
Chief Beard was questioned if Oakley Police had the staffing levels to even assist the City of Antioch in which he shared three years ago, the ask by the City of Antioch would not have been entertained.
“Now that we have hired the 17 officers over the past three years, I’ve been able to open up elements such as the special services team. I have a fully staffed traffic unit. I am about to go live with a second school resource officer, to answer that question to do this on an infrequent and intermittent basis, I think those are two key terms, this will only touch us once or twice every so often. I do believe I have the staffing for this,” explained Chief Beard.
Councilmember Anissa Williams asked at what point does the agreement come up for another discussion.
Beard said Oakley will “not remain under any obligation to engage in the aid” noting if he needed Oakley officers for an assignment or internal purposes, he would have that discussion with the city of Antioch.
Vice Mayor Hugh Henderson asked if there was an operation he didn’t feel comfortable sending an Oakley officer into, if Oakley has the ability to turn it down? Chief Beard replied, “yes”.
Mayor Shannon Shaw called it a unique situation that if the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office was not understaffed, and California Highway Patrol (CHP) was not assisting the City of Oakland, they would have reached out to them first.
“I believe in helping our neighbors because it’s our neighbors who can impact us the most,” stated Shaw. “With that, I am in support of it.”
Councilmember Aaron Meadows supported the item citing the election results.
“I believe in the November election, the citizens of Antioch wanted to make change in their city, and this came up before that election. I tell you, if the election didn’t go like it did, I would probably be voting no right now because they sent a message they were not willing to step up and do their part. But they sent the message they are by putting three new people on the council,” explained Meadows. “From my outside perspective, it appears, you guys may have a difference sense of opinion being in that business, but it appears APD is taking the steps to right the ship. They are hiring, recruiting and based on the controls you can put on and short term of the situation right now, I would support it.”
The item was then approved in a 5-0 vote.
Previously Reported based on staff report:
If Oakley does agree to provide assistance with an approved MOU, it would be on top of special assignment such as traffic enforcement where agencies pull resources and provide traffic enforcement—Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Pittsburg, Richmond and CHP. They also participate in Vehicle Theft Suppression Enforcement teams (VSET).
Chief Beard provided a series of “risks” in the staff report that if approved could include:
- Employee injuries
- Use of Force Incidents
- Equipment Damage
- Equipment Costs
- Officer Complaints
- Communications
- Financial risks: The City of Antioch will not pay outside officers for those future court appearances. These court appearances would be part of the “miscellaneous costs” of the initial flat rate fee
Recommended Model:
I recommend using our Special Services Team SST for operations that occur during their normal work week, which is Tuesday – Friday.
- The SST would operate out of a marked vehicle and they would wear patrol uniforms
- This model does fit with the operational profile of the SST
- There is a built-in sergeant with the SST. If by chance, the regular SST sergeant is not available for duty a call for other sergeants will be made to fill in. If no sergeant is available we would not participate in a proactive operation.
- Having a sergeant on duty with our officers ensures our officers have an element of somebody they can turn to if they need supervisory support
- Having a sergeant on duty also ensures a supervisor from Oakley is providing overwatch for litigious incidents such as pursuits
Fiscal Impact
As noted the City of Oakley will be reimbursed at a rate of $200 per hour for each hour any Oakley officer provides assistance to the City of Antioch under the terms of the MOU. This amount should cover all salary/benefit expenses.
The $200 per hour may, or may not, cover all future salary demands for court subpoenas arising out of arrests or interactions that are associated with the assistance to the City of Antioch. Due to the fluid nature of criminal cases it is very difficult to anticipate future court subpoenas.
Fuel expenses and wear and tear on equipment were previously addressed in this report. Again, due to the fluid nature of this type of work it is difficult to anticipate future expenses due to these issues.
Staff Recommendation
In spite of all of the risks outlined in this document I do recommend that we participate in this request by the City of Antioch for aid. My purpose for this recommendation is due to the fact we are a public safety agency. Maintaining public safety in the community of Oakley is paramount and I believe in some measure Oakley is threatened by what is occurring in the City of Antioch. Our participation in a request for aid to the City of Antioch could actually help stabilize the East Contra Costa County region, which would include Oakley.
UPDATED Antioch Police Staffing
Last week, Antioch Police Chief Brian Addington said he believed they have seen the department stabilize which included the priority of hiring which he said was “progressing well”. Data provided by him included:
- 80 sworn officers
- 65 are on active-duty patrolling
- 6 more officers by end of month (graduating academy)
- 60 individuals are in some form of hiring process (entry/lateral/academy/CSO/Dispatcher
Staff Report – click here
If You GO
Oakley City Council meeting
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
6:30 pm
3231 Main St, Oakley CA
Full Agenda – click here
Note – the staff report does not include a list of police agencies who have taken up Antioch’s request for outside assistance to cover hot spots.
Related
- Oct 9 – Antioch Agrees to Allocate $500k for Outside Police Assistance
- Sept 25, 2024 – Antioch Mayor Says “All Options” on the Table to Reduce Violence
- Sept. 28, 2023 – Antioch Police Pressed on if Aid from CHP or Sheriff is Needed
- Oct 25, 2023 – Senator Glazer Requests CHP Help for City of Antioch
- Aug 6, 2023 – Barbanica Calls on CHP and Sheriff to Assist Antioch Police
- Jan 26, 2023 – Oakley Councilmember Suggests Not Sending Officers into City of Antioch
1 comment
Why would Oakley take on the liability of policing another city. I get the idea of helping out, but by the time they take out the costs of cars, court, and administrative costs, the officers will be making about their overtime rate. This only benefits the politicians and is not a good use of our officers. Antioch can find its own way out of the mess they have become.
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