In a modern day tribute to the impaled bodies that once lined the roads of the Middle Ages, a shredded jersey with a black “X” scrawled across the back hangs 20 feet up a telephone pole on the corner of E. 17th and 27th streets in Oakland. It’s a warning from the local gang, says Jason Victor Serinus. a neighborhood resident who has alerted police to disturbances. It’s the gang’s way of saying, “’If you come through our territory, this is what will happen to you.’”
Gang violence and drug dealing have been a steady disruption in this section of town, according to some residents, but they are hopeful things will get better soon. Part of that hope rests on a new program being initiated across Oakland. “Problem Solving Officers” are being deployed to walk the beats rather than just responding to specific calls in problem neighborhoods.
“People are gonna be here as PSO’s [Problem Solving Officers]. They will be patrolling this area… and introducing themselves to the neighbors,” said Ignacio de la Fuente, Councilman for the district.
The idea is to have these problem solving officers be a constant presence in the community. “They’re not gonna be on call,” said de la Fuente, “they are assigned to this beat.”
“We’ll be working together with the city to resolve the problems of specific beats,” said officer Robert Silva Rodriguez. Officer Silva has been on the force for over seven years, and after 6 months of training as a problem solving officer, this is his first week on the job.
The increased police presence was made possible through the passage of Measure Y, a voter-approved ballot measure that raised taxes to hire more Oakland police officers and expand anti-violence prevention programs.
About 30 of the 60 or so newly hired officers will be designated part of the problem solving officers corp. These officers will spend an average of four hours per day on foot. While not gang-specialists, they “will be informed of gangs, what gangs are here, and what their territory is,” said officer Silva.
“We will be addressing the regular, persistent crime in certain areas that regular patrol officers haven’t had time to deal with,” said Officer Ouseng Saeparn, a former patrol officer.
As of yesterday, there had been 111 homicides in the city of Oakland. While Officer Ouseng was reluctant to say whether he thought the new foot patrols would reduce homicide violence, he said “I know it will definitely clean up the community and make it a better place with safer living conditions.” In some cases, he said, “we may get a stay-away order, and subsequently get [gang members] off the corners.”
The neighborhood around E. 17th and 27th Ave. is lined with quaint, wooden homes built in classic styles of the City. On a large white building on the corner, laundry hangs on the upstairs railing. Small satellite dishes mark nearly every other roof. A neighbor works on his car while the police PR show takes place on his block.
Marco Zarate, a 19 year old neighbor living on a nearby street, does not notice the violence so much. “You see a bunch of fights, people doing doughnuts in their car, a lot of noise,” he said, but “crime, not so much.”
But a mere two blocks away, there are clues that lead to a different conclusion. “Drug deals were taking place on the corner here,” said Serinus. “This light here was shot out repeatedly until we got a [bullet proof] screen for it”, he said pointing up to the street lamp. Someone tried to shoot it anyway. A dark impact mark was visible on the protective screen.
The problem is when you have drug dealers, you have rivalries, Serinus said. “Then they start killing each other.” Pointing in various directions from his home, Serinus indicated the general location of five shootings that had taken place within five blocks of his home.
Officer Mike Valladon has been a PSO for 6 months, and an officer for eight years. It used to be that we were the only one’s who noticed the violent crime, he said. Residents would call up and complain about parking. “Now it seems to be everybody is saying crime is out of control.”
Serinus is not the type of person to back down easily from a fight. “I’m an old sixties radical, an S.D.S. organizer,” he said referring to the non-violent activist group, Students for a Democratic Society. He helped organize his street into the “East 17th Block Association” to discuss the gang activity happening outside their doors, and then push police and council members to address the situation. Today’s new on-foot beat assignments signify the culmination of those efforts.
In some respects, Serinus is still a sixties radical. “These kids out here have a lot of humanity in them,” he said. “You can see it in how they treat the dog with care.” The problem, he said, is that society has not provided people with alternatives. “I’m seeing the problems of America right here on this block.”