The Oakland police chief is making some dire claims about what his force will and will not respond to if layoffs go as planned. Chief Anthony Batts listed exactly 44 situations that his officers will no longer respond to and they include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism.

80 officers were to be let go at midnight last night if a last-minute deal was not reached.  That's about ten percent of the work force.

"I came here to build an organization, not downsize one," said Batts, who was given the top job in October.

Someone might want to tell him exactly how much the police force has grown in Oakland over the past 10 years. 80 jobs would barely put a dent in the number of new officers hired in that period.  Since Oakland continues to claim a reduced crime rate one can argue these 80 officers really haven't had that much to do anyway. Logic follows that 10 years ago fewer officers were responding to more crime. 

This threat is nothing more than the unions and bureaucracy trying to scare the public into funding their already bloated budgets.  Here is a list of "minor" crimes the Police Chief says he will no longer cover:

Hot Dog Eating Champion Arrested

Former hot-dog-eating champion Takeru Kobayashi was arrested over the weekend after he tried to take the stage at the Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York City, police say. Kobayashi wasn't allowed to compete because he got into a contract dispute with Major League Eating.

Not to be overly crass, but it would seem to me that a man known for his particular talents would do anything he could to stay out of jail. :-/

Ronald Lee Brockway, 50, of Seal Beach allegedly solicited attorney referrals and inmate business, according to the district attorney’s office, which charged him with two felony counts of violating bail license regulations.

Brockway is accused of violating a state law that prohibits bail bond employees from soliciting business from inmates or recommending any attorney to clients. Brockway allegedly sent e-mails to attorneys soliciting them to participate in the bail bond scheme with his company, Respect Bail Bond. He also allegedly mass mailed fliers to the Orange County Jail advertising his business.

He is being held on $50,000 bail. If convicted of all charges, Brockway faces a maximum sentence of three years and eight months in state prison.

California law prohibits bail bond employees from soliciting bail business from any inmate or incarcerated person, according to a news release from the Orange County District Attorney's Office. The law also prohibits bail bond employees from recommending any attorney to any bail bond client, even if no money changes hands.