Interim Oakland police Chief James Beere opened up about crime challenges, what’s changing inside the department and if he wants the top cop job permanently during a one-on-one interview Tuesday.
Three months into the high-pressure role, Beere addressed the challenges, the progress and what comes next.
“I really see a bright future for Oakland,” he said.
Crime is down across all categories this year, but after a spike in violence in 2023, he said he understands why many still don’t feel safe.
“The tide is turning,” he said. “We’ve leveraged the technology piece to include the real-time operation center. We’ve re-signed for ShotSpotter.”
He pointed to a strategy built on community partnerships and regional law enforcement.
One of his biggest challenges is staffing. Right now, OPD has 614 officers, but only about 500 are operational. That’s down from about 800 officers in 2009 – despite a growing population.
“We’ve increased the responsibilities, and ultimately that’s kind of where the challenge is,” he said.
After 29 years with OPD and around a dozen police chiefs in 15 years, he said he has applied to become the permanent chief.
“I want to leave here holding my head high knowing that I made a difference and I set it back in its right trajectory where it needs to be,” he said.
To rebuild the department is graduating new recruits, with dozens more in the pipeline, and reviving a cadet program to boost future hiring.
Beere has also restructured his leadership team and said he’s seeing interest from former officers returning. He’s also focusing on expanding technology.
“We’re right now working at obtaining a database or a platform to help us make all our technology communicate…to include creating our drone first responder program, which will help us cut down the response time but provide essential information for officers to have the tools to be safe,” he said.
At the same time, Beere is meeting with residents and walking neighborhoods like Chinatown. Community leaders said that presence is key, especially after a revolving door of leadership.
“We need someone that can work alongside the community, build that trust, so that we can truly have positive impacts in all of Oakland,” Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce President Stephanie Tran said.
While some businesses are seeing fewer property crimes, business improvement district leaders hope to see the trend continue.
“Businesses are on the margin and they need a safe environment to operate because one incident could be the end of them,” Daniel Swafford said.