Oakland is a dangerous place?? (San Leandro, Alameda: law, store, move)

[DocGoldstein]

That's nice, but when someone calls in because they're hiding in the closet and three men are ransacking their entire home, it's pretty difficult to get online and fill out a form. People like that need immediate assistance and in Oakland, that's not a given with 911, or any emergency call.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Some calls receive no physical response and the caller has the option to go online or OPD will send out a form for the caller to fill out and return.

In the middle of the night... someone unloaded a pick-up full of trash in front of a property I manage... the residents had arranged for Bulky Pickup with Waste Management... everything over 3 yards is billed as excess.

I took pictures and called the police and was told to go online and fill out a report...

Waste Management came, removed all the trash, even though I had left a sign saying it was illegal dumped and reported to OPD

About a month later, I get a bill for several hundred dollars for excess trash... thankfully, I had my police report and the charge was dropped...

We didn't put out the trash and it wasn't on the property I managed... it was on the street...

Interesting, thank you for telling about your actual experience with OPD rather than making up scenarios you've never actually dealt with like some suburbanites on this forum.

[DocGoldstein]

Yeah I agree, it's always good to talk about real life experiences instead of made up stuff.

Oakland woman talks about harrowing attack, slow 911 response | www.ktvu.com

An Oakland woman who was recently robbed and pistol whipped in her own garage talked about the brutal crime Wednesday and criticized what some have called a slow response from police and paramedics.

"What happened to me could happen to anyone," said the woman. "It was in the middle of the day. It was in broad daylight."

Despite calls to 911, the woman said it took police 20 to 30 minutes to arrive. Even though firefighters were nearby, policy kept them from coming to her aid any sooner.

"Two men walked down the driveway and into the garage and threatened me with a gun and began beating me," the victim remembered. "It was a horrific thing. My son, at a very young and tender age, witnessed the entire thing."

She said it was neighbors who came to her aid.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by bryanilee

Wait a sec, so are you saying that 911 is too slow? That if it's an emergency you should not call 911? If so they need to update all their messaging about what 911 is for.

No matter where you are, cell phones get routed in different ways, so access to your local emergency system is hampered.

Here in Oakland, San Leandro and Alameda -- very probably everywhere, but I haven't checked -- have seven digit emergency numbers that route you into their own 911 system. That is what you should plug into your phone and give it a speed dial number.

The time wasted dialing 911 on your cell, getting routed to the CHP emergency line, and then routed again (I've done this -- they literally dial up your local 911 to patch you through) connected to your local 911 might not be much, but when seconds count, seconds count....

Also keep in mind -- cells phones (as far as I know) aren't hooked up to the 911 tracking system, so when you use a cell phone, dispatch has no idea where you are. I still have a landline because I panic and I've been unable to tell them where I live. I can't imagine after 25 years I can't come up with my address, but as I've said -- I've called 911 in a panic twice and both times I couldn't remember my addresses. Them knowing has been wonderful. The other times I've called 911 I haven't been in a panic and could answer their questions.

The OPD cell phone emergency number is 510-777-3211

Public Safety ~ City of Oakland, California

[sav858]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

Yeah I agree, it's always good to talk about real life experiences instead of made up stuff.

Oakland woman talks about harrowing attack, slow 911 response | www.ktvu.com

It's even better when you can actually talk about your own experiences rather than rely on news articles for 100% of your posts about a city

[DocGoldstein]

While I agree that all emergency systems are linked in various ways, I think response times are a clear indicator of whether emergency services are adequate or not.

When you're getting pistol whipped in your own home, and getting robbed under threat of death, it would seem to me that the police would consider that a priority. A 30 minute response clearly shows Oakland's emergency services are completely inadequate.

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by sav858

It's even better when you can actually talk about your own experiences rather than rely on news articles for 100% of your posts about a city

Yeah, it probably is "better" in certain circumstances like someone dumping garbage in your yard, but I think you would find it hard for homicide victims to come onto City-data to post about their experiences in Oakland. Therefore, news articles do have their use.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

news articles do have their use.

Clearly, what would you do without them given that you don't actually live in Oakland and do not speak from any sort of actual experience?

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by sav858

Clearly, what would you do without them given that you don't actually live in Oakland and do not speak from any sort of actual experience?

What are you talking about? I've actually been jumped in West Oakland by thugs.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

What are you talking about? I've actually been jumped in West Oakland by thugs.

Sure.....