Applying the Ceasefire Strategy in Santa Rita Jail

by Pastor Jim Hopkins

There are three main categories of violence reduction strategies: prevention, intervention, and community change. Oakland Ceasefire is an intervention strategy. With the goals of reducing the number of shootings and homicides, reducing recidivism, and improving community-police relations, it seeks to intervene meaningfully in the lives of the “drivers and drawers” of gun violence. One of the main objectives is to connect those most likely to resort to gun violence, or be the target of the same, with trained life coaches who can help them to live both freely and safely.

Direct communication with those at the very highest risk for gun violence is a core Ceasefire strategy. To be helpful, these communications must be with the right people and done in the right way. These communications must be honest, authentic, and credible. They occur via group meetings titled call-ins and via custom notifications which occur both in the community, usually at the home of the person at risk, and in Santa Rita Jail.

Custom notifications are a quick tactical tool used to manage near-term spikes in violence (often conflicts between groups), interrupt retaliatory shooting, and communicate with groups and individuals offering them services. The small community-based teams that make the custom notifications consist of a law enforcement officer, a representative of Oakland’s Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), and a community member (frequently a member of the clergy).

At an in-community custom notification, the law enforcement officer makes first contact with the person being notified, assures them that they are not being arrested, and introduces them to the DVP representative and the community member. The DVP representative then delivers a “risk and opportunity” message, urging the person to accept services and be connected with a DVP life coach. The community representative serves as a witness and an “accountability partner” with the message that they want to be contacted if the promise of service is found not to be credible.

Ceasefire leaders have learned that it is important and helpful to do custom notifications with persons incarcerated at Santa Rita, but soon to return to the community. There, the team is an Alameda County Probation officer who works out of Santa Rita, an Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy, a DVP representative, and a community representative. The basic message is something like “We understand that you might be released from custody soon. We know you are looking forward to getting out of here, but suspect that you are also worried about how things are going to go for you when you get back home. We want to help you and those you love to stay alive and free.” Each person is asked by a Sheriff's Office official if they would like to meet with a member of our group. Some choose not to, but most are willing to connect. 

In the course of a year, the goal is to conduct 300 custom notifications, with slightly less than half of these taking place in Santa Rita. Procedural justice, community values, and hope for a better day are all at work in these communications.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:  Write to the Board of Supervisors via https://bos.alamedacountyca.gov

Write to the Chief Probation Officer and thank them for their support of this program at jagrigsby@acgov.org

 Write Oakland DVP Chief Holly Joshi and thank her at oaklandDVP@oaklandca.gov

 Join a Ceasefire Nightwalk with Faith in Action East Bay. Visit them at bit.ly/3Vx8CQK