Eyeing Oakland, Berkeley Asks Whether It Too Needs More Police

The Berkeley City Council is considering whether to seek a property tax increase for the purpose of hiring more police officers, the Oakland Tribune reported. A working group of the council will discuss the idea today at 5 p.m. in advance of the council’s regular 7 p.m. meeting. Police staffing is down from 203 sworn officers in 2001 to just 183 today, the paper reported.