Oakland police collaborating with NAACP to hire more officers amid staffing crisis

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The push to get new officers is a collaborative effort, says the Oakland Police Officers' Association.

Besides the police department itself, the Oakland chapter of the NAACP as well as some city councilmembers, are the leading forces behind it.

Sgt. Huy Nguyen is the president of the police officers' association.

"We need everybody to get to this. We need every city leadership to get to this," Sgt. Nguyen said.

Sgt. Nguyen says OPD currently has 511 officers, but he expects that number to drop in the coming months.

MORE: Oakland Police Department reassigns traffic enforcement to patrols due to staffing shortage

Nguyen says the department is losing about six people a month. If that continues, the department won't be able to replace them fast enough even with new academies set to graduate.

"This is the lowest number I've seen in my 26-year career being a police officer here in Oakland," Nguyen said.

The alarming statistics are one reason why the Oakland chapter of the NAACP is supporting the new drive to recruit more officers.

Brenda Harbin-Forte is a member of the group's executive committee. She says they believe having a fully staffed police department is a critical part of providing public safety.

Harbin-Forte says much of the city's crime impacts its African American population.

"As a community, we need to look at why there is so much crime. We need to look at it from the victims' perspective as well," said Harbin-Forte.

MORE: Oakland ranked 2nd most dangerous place in US as OPD staffing concerns persist

Harbin-Forte also says it's important to recruit high-quality candidates.

And that in addition to supporting OPD, social justice aspects have to be considered.

"We have to have good quality policing. Nobody supports the idea that the police should victimize the communities," Harbin-Forte said.

As for Sgt. Nguyen, he believes much of the staffing crisis at OPD is the fault of some elected officials in the city.

"City leaders have to see the challenges here and hopefully make decisions and take steps to change and improve the quality of the work conditions in the city so that our members can serve," he said.

OPD recently cut several of its departments to fill staffing shortages in other areas.