The number of murders this year in Oakland is on track to be 25 percent lower than last year, and in the most violent part of East Oakland murders are down 50 percent. Credit for this is being given to Bill Bratton, the former Los Angeles police chief whom Mayor Jean Quan paid $250,000 to consult with the city on crime reduction strategies.
Bratton was hired at the beginning of the year amidst much controversy and several long city council meetings, and many people were concerned he'd be bringing the controversial stop-and-frisk policy to Oakland, which he ultimately did not.
Bratton had served briefly as police commissioner in New York City in the 90s, and lately has headed a consulting firm called the Bratton Group. He's credited with having co-created Compstat, the crime mapping system used by Oakland and many other major cities.
It just came out this week that Bratton will be returning to New York to take the commissioner role once again.
According to Mayor Quan's spokesman, Sean Maher, speaking to CBS 5, Bratton's biggest impact in Oakland overall has been a reorganization of the police department, dividing it into five districts "where each captain [has] greater autonomy over staffing and investigations." Also, police are doing more fanning out within neighborhoods to combat robberies.
Oakland saw its 84th homicide this week, and so long as things stay calm, the number will come in 25 percent last year's high of 131 murders.
