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POLICE POD AUDIO EIGHT: APD STAFFING GAINS, HURDLES, GOALS, OFFICER TRAINING/ACCOUNTABILITY AND MORE

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This In-Depth ANN AUDIO Episode With Chief Of Police Nishant Joshi Expands On Prior Print Story On APD Staffing And New Hires

Many steps and a still ongoing, gradual time frame are involved with getting new officers on the streets to bring APD’s force and training  levels up to a stage where effective, strategic, professional  policing can be achieved in line with Chief  Joshi’s long-term game plan.  Here, two of five total officers who, at one point, arrived at the arrest scene of a burglary suspect, retrieve allegedly stolen property.  Joshi is steadily trying to boost the number of patrol officers, now at 50, to a level where all nineteen patrol ‘beats’ on the island are adequately covered.

Text & Interview by Larry Freeman

This audio version is an innovative journalism product in which ANN follows up on a previously printed, detail/data heavy story, “APD ADDS NEW OFFICERS TO ITS RANKS,” (2/28) with an in person, one on one interview with The Chief.

Here, Joshi takes us beyond and behind the lines of print and the vast data originally provided to ANN  by APD Lieutenant Alan Kuboyama after hours of research on his part.

‘HEAR’ you will learn much more about the intricacies, challenges, solutions and more about Alameda’s current police officer staffing shortage and its quest to grow the ranks.

So put your phone on speaker mode, pop in your earbuds, plug your device into your car’s sound system — or however you like to listen–  and hear the news ‘on the go’ as you free yourself from the tether of this screen.

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SOME HIGHLIGHTS YOU WILL HEAR

> Better beat staffing/ coverage on the way.

> A detailed timeline for filling staffing patrol division and other spots to get to the maximum authorized/funded of 88.

> The intensive elements of background checks prospective officers must undergo and pass.

> The role of police academies in training, staffing and their impact on the timeline of getting new officers on force.

> Why it takes so long to get new officers on board.

> The intent and design behind APD’s  $75,000 recruitment bonus to attract talent from a shrunken pool of prospects.

> What APD really means in terms of character and behavior when it comes to the department’s demand of high levels of “professionalism.”

> What happens when officers do not live up to those  baseline expectations.

> Handling the “anti cop” mentality in the wake of too many over the top police incidents of police abuse and violence and the Pandemic., and  how body cam footage plays a role in officer training and discipline in what the Chief terms as a “misalignment” of intent vs. actions. 

In that context, here Is a sampling of what you will here in full from the Chief when it comes to matters of police misconduct in Alameda:    “If that’s a mistake of the heart (on the part of an officer in an encounter) I’ve got a problem with that……and that’s going to dictate the outcome of accountability.” 

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