Data about where police use rifles, launchers and other “controlled” equipment will now be public. Officials said it’s a matter of racial justice.
Police Review Commission
Posted inCity
Firefighters pour money into Berkeley ballot measure that would raise $8.5 million a year
Supporters have contributed $44,000 to Measure FF. It would raise property taxes to improve 911 service and help prepare Berkeley for disasters, they say. Opponents contend there are no controls on the fund.
Posted inCrime & Safety
Police review boards upheld 2 misconduct reports in 2018; 1 was overturned
Berkeley’s Police Review Commission sustained just two allegations of misconduct in 2018, and one was later overturned on appeal, according to the PRC’s annual report.
Posted inCrime & Safety
As staffing crisis continues for Berkeley police, officers who left reveal why
Veteran officers have been leaving the department in record numbers, walking away from friends and generous benefits to start over at other agencies. What has driven the exodus?
Posted inCrime & Safety
No findings of Berkeley police misconduct in 2017, new PRC report says
The Police Review Commission sustained no findings of misconduct across 22 complaints against Berkeley police officers in 2017, according to the latest report from the PRC.
Posted inCity
Berkeley City Council won’t put police oversight measure on 2018 ballot
A Berkeley City Council proposal to put a police oversight charter amendment on the November ballot has run out of time to be considered this fall.
Posted inCity
Berkeley police stops show racial disparities — but what does that mean?
Black and Hispanic people stopped by BPD are searched “at much higher rates” than white people, researchers told the PRC this week, but disparities don’t automatically mean bias.
Posted inCity
Berkeley council votes to create new task force on racial disparities in policing
Officials voted Tuesday night to create a new yearlong task force to study racial disparities in police stops in Berkeley to consider whether changes should be made.
Posted inCity
Charter change would put Berkeley police oversight into citizen hands (but whose?)
The Berkeley City Council is slated to vote Tuesday on whether to place a controversial police oversight charter amendment on the November ballot.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: Let Berkeley City Councilwoman Cheryl Davila do her job
Davila had every right to replace a transportation commissioner who wouldn’t reveal his attitude about divestment in Israel with someone who supported her views on that issue.
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: A social justice agenda requires more than rhetoric and gestures
While Councilwoman Cheryl Davila says she was elected “to carry out a social-justice platform,” some of her appointments are divisive, which works against the city’s interests.
Posted inCrime, Crime & Safety
Berkeley police emphasize ‘culture of de-escalation’
Berkeley police practice de-escalation skills during a drill in the old Pyramid brewery. (The helmets they are wearing are safety gear due to the type of rounds used in the drill.) Here, officers respond to an armed bank robbery scenario. Photo: Emilie Raguso Two officers pull up to a house in Berkeley. There’s yelling coming […]