Here we go again: Oakland police and Mayor Jean Quan are catching flak for the mayor’s latest, not-very-well-explained anti-crime tactic called Operation Ceasefire. (Shades of the mayor’s earlier, never-satisfactorily-explained 100 Blocks plan?) The cops scooped up eight suspects as part of the anti-gang violence program more than a week ago but have refused to identify them or even say what crimes they’re accused of committing.
First amendment advocates are howling. UC Berkeley law professor Frank Zimring tells the Chronicle:
"OK, Mayor Quan; OK, police chief du jour, you tell me what you are doing and how it is working, and you have to tell me in a convincing fashion. Eight arrests are a big deal, but what are those eight arrests doing to decrease gunshots in Oakland? And if we don't know, how will we know and when will we know?"
