Oakland unveils proven crime fighting plan

By Jeff Shuttleworth, Bay City News Service

August 3, 2006

OAKLAND (BCN) - Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and police Chief Wayne Tucker today announced their latest effort to reduce the city's crime rate.

Speaking at a news conference at the Oakland Police Department, Brown and Tucker said "Operation Ceasefire'' would combine tough new enforcement efforts with offers of employment training and assistance to those who stop their violent ways.

Deputy Chief Howard Jordan, who is heading the operation, said it has four phases.

In the first phase, the Police Department would identify Oakland's top 100 criminal offenders.

Jordan said during the second phase, police would bring in those 100 people to discuss the consequences of continued criminal activity but also programs that he said would help them if they decide to stop committing crimes and become more responsible citizens.

Jordan said in the third and fourth phases, those who choose the criminal path would be subject to severe punishment under state and federal laws, but those who choose otherwise would be offered job training and counseling.

Jordan said Operation Ceasefire is modeled on an identically named program in Boston that was credited with reducing juvenile homicide significantly in that city. It has also been used in other cities, he said.

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