AMID A POLICE STAFFING CRISIS, Oakland is reviving a program to prepare interested youth for a career in law enforcement in their own community.  

The Oakland Police Department Cadet Program will be restored through an investment from Kaiser Permanente and Pacific Gas & Electric, Mayor Barbara Lee announced Wednesday. 

The program, which is intended for Oakland residents between 18 and 21 years old who are interested in a career in law enforcement, was discontinued in 2023 because of budgetary constraints. 

Kaiser and PG&E are stepping in with a total investment of $900,000 to fund nine cadet positions over the next two years. 

“One of the most effective ways to strengthen public safety is to ensure that the people entrusted with this responsibility come from Oakland, that they understand Oakland,” said Lee during a press conference at City Hall. “This cadet program is part of a broader effort to build a public safety pipeline rooted in opportunity, partnership, and community trust.”

Through the program, cadets gain part-time, paid work experience with the Oakland Police Department while attending college. They are encouraged to complete their degrees and then enroll in the police academy to complete their training. 

The academy graduation rate is 90% for cadets and 60% for non-cadets, said OPD Interim Chief James Beere, who echoed Lee’s sentiment about the importance of recruiting locally.

“We’re taking children from our community, bringing them into the police department, building that relationship early on, and as they come up through their ranks, they understand the culture, and they are policing the community that they grew up in,” said Beere. 

The Oakland Police Officers’ Association, a union representing the city’s sworn officers, welcomed the announcement but called for more short-term measures to overcome the department’s staffing crisis. 

(Second from right) Oakland Police Officer Isaach Harris speaks at a press conference announcing the reinstatement of the Oakland Police Cadet Program as (L-R) Oakland Police Department interim chief James Beere, Oakland Police Officer Isaiah Harris, and PG&E Senior Vice-President David Leach listen on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026 at City Hall in Oakland, Calif. Officers Isaac and Isaiah Harris graduated from the Oakland Police Cadet program. (Tanay Gokhale/Bay City News)

A 2024 study commissioned by the Oakland City Council found that it needs 877 sworn officers. Currently, Oakland has only 619 sworn officers, of which only 490 are operational, according to a news release by the union on Wednesday.

“We are in a crisis,” said Huy Nguyen, president of the union. “There is, concerningly, no end in sight unless the Mayor and Council take action to retain the small force of dedicated officers we have, and to draw new recruits now to Oakland through improved pay, benefits, and working conditions.”

Beere said that though the shortfall of officers persists, the department’s attrition rate is slowing down. 

On Friday, 14 recruits graduated from the police academy and joined the force. Also, the academy is running a reintegration class for up to 12 former officers who want to return to the department.

“We have people that want to come back to OPD, from as far as the East Coast, from El Dorado County, and from neighboring agencies,” said Beere. “We haven’t seen that before.”